An Overview of Taft Academic Center

Located in the far Northwest side of Chicago, Taft Academic Center (housed within Taft High School) is an International Baccalaureate World School. As noted on the CPS website, IB schools “share a common philosophy—a commitment to improving the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering a challenging and high-quality program of international education.” Most notably, IB students not only adhere to Common Core State Standards but also, international standards of excellence. Students who are accepted into Taft’s Academic Center are automatically accepted into the IB program for high school should they choose to stay.

In addition, according to Taft’s website, Taft is the only high school in Chicago to offer a six-year IB program that begins in 7th grade. This is called their Middle Years Program (MYP). Within the MYP for 7th and 8th graders, students complete an honors-level core curriculum, a design course, a foreign language course, and an elective such as art, drama, or band. Like other academic centers, students can earn high school credit during their 7th and 8th-grade years; unlike other academic centers, Taft 7th and 8th-grade students are able to earn International Baccalaureate high school credits.

Taft’s website also boasts an impressive amount of sports and clubs from which students enrolled can choose to participate: more than 100. In addition, students can learn in a more hands-on environment by attending field trips to places such as Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Holocaust Museum, as well as participating in “Team Building Adventures,” and more. Another unique element of Taft is its transportation policy: transportation is provided through a busing program for students who reside more than 1.5 miles away from the school.

For more information about Taft’s Academic Center and its programs, visit their website at tafthighschool.org.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of Kenwood Academy Academic Center

Kenwood Academy Academic Center (also known as Kenwood) is one of seven Academic Centers in Chicago. Kenwood calls Chicago’s Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhood its home and has been providing rigorous academics to the south side neighborhood for years. Priding itself as one of the first Academic Centers opened in Chicago Public Schools; Kenwood Academy Academic Center begins in the 7th grade and continues into 8th, promising a “nurturing, small school setting” coupled with an intensive curriculum to prepare its future scholars.

Kenwood Academic Center’s curriculum involves a core set of classes that are only taught by Academic Center educators, with each student taking Academic Center Math, Science, Social Science, and Language Arts. Since each subject is taught only by other Academic Center instructors, students are exposed to a more personalized education than in a regular classroom. These instructors also use web-based instructional tools to provide their students with up to date and accessible course information online. Students are not the only ones who benefit from Kenwood Academic Center’s personalized approach; Kenwood also prioritizes parents by including them in frequent feedback and and student updates by phone, email, and parent meetings with the educators and administrators of the Academic Center. 

Kenwood Academic Center is dedicated to making sure that their students reach their fullest potential by not only providing them with a curriculum that challenges them, but by also providing an abundance of outlets for support for the duration of their program. This includes utilizing teachers, mentors, tutors, and school counselors to achieve the most effective organizational skills for the student and providing consultations from past Kenwood Academic Center alumni in order to ease the transition into the Academic Center. Kenwood Academic Center also offers a variety of extracurricular activities for students to choose from. These include clubs and activities such as Debate, Ivy League club, Poetry club, Anime club, and the traditional offerings of art, band, and sports. 

While Kenwood Academic Center does not have its own website, visit Kenwood Academy’s website to find more information for the Academic Center underneath the Academic Center tab: https://www.kenwoodacademy.org/

Ramisha Ejaz, Tutoring Coordinator
ramisha@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of Whitney Young Academic Center

Whitney M. Young (also known as Whitney Young) Academic Center is one of seven Academic Centers in Chicago. Maintaining roots on Chicago’s west side, Whitney Young’s Academic Center has provided its students the same level of preparedness as their high school counterparts for over three decades. Their Academic Center begins in the 7th grade and continues into 8th with a guaranteed spot into Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (one of Chicago’s eleven selective enrollment high schools) upon completion.

Whitney Young’s Academic Center prides itself on engaging students in their maximum academic potential while also providing them with a skill set that encourages lifelong learning. It begins this process by arming its students in the 7th grade with an accelerated curriculum that correlates with the Academic Center’s Six Year Plan. All students in the 7th grade are enrolled into core courses such as Language Arts, Honors Environmental Science, Social Science, Math, and Physical Education with the ability to choose up to two Honors-level electives. 8th graders continue this core curriculum with Honors English I, Honors Biology, Honors World History, and Math as well as two Honors-level electives. By the end of the two years at Whitney Young’s Academic Center, students have the potential to accumulate as many as twelve high school credits before beginning their 9th-grade year. 

Whitney Young Academic Center’s elective schedule offers its students the opportunity to flex their academic independence with its diversity in courses.These classes can include computer science, robotics, dance, orchestra, guitar, piano, chorus, drama, graphic design, and mixed media to name a few. Language courses offered at the Academic Center include Mandarin Chinese, French, Latin, Japanese, and Spanish. Additionally, if students are interested in sports or extracurriculars, Whitney Young offers many programs including but not limited to basketball, cross country, track, and math team.

While Whitney M. Young Academic Center does not have its own website, visit Whitney Young’s website to find more information for the Academic Center under the Admissions tab at: wyoung.org.

Ramisha Ejaz, Tutoring Coordinator
ramisha@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of Lane Tech Academic Center

Founded in 1908, Lane Technical College Prep High School (also known as Lane Tech) and Academic Center is situated in Roscoe Village, a neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. Though founded many years ago, Lane Tech’s academic center opened in 2011. Lane is one of eleven selective enrollment high schools in Chicago and its academic center is one of seven. Since it’s both a selective enrollment high school and academic center, students enrolled in Lane’s academic center are automatically enrolled in Lane Tech’s high school program without needing to reapply.

Much like at other academic centers, students enrolled are considered gifted and can gain high school credit for classes as well as work on material that is 1-2 years advanced. Moreover, Lane Tech’s website describes their academic center as providing “an advanced curriculum for students beginning in the 7th grade and culminates with a capstone advanced placement college preparatory experience.”

Furthermore, as early as their 7th-grade year, students at Lane Tech Academic Center begin receiving high school credit for classes like algebra, biology, global issues, and electives such as world language, art, music, or computer science. As students progress to high school, all academic center students at Lane are expected to take either Honor or Advanced Placement courses, though, still must meet all regular prerequisites in place by course instructors and departments. This puts students on track to already be taking AP courses (that may count for college credit) during their freshman year of high school.

In addition to academics, Lane Tech Academic Center also offers extracurriculars students would find at any other elementary school. Sports offered include cross country, track, basketball, soccer, and cheerleading to name a few. There are also clubs which include but are not limited to student council, math team, yearbook, chess, and the National Junior Honor Society.

To find out more about Lane Tech Academic Center’s courses or extracurriculars, visit their website: https://lanetech.org/ltac/.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

CPS Strike Ends

After 11 missed school days, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Office of Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the strike was over on October 31st, 2019 with students heading back to class beginning the following day, November 1st, 2019.

This announcement came after days of grueling negotiation between the CTU and the Mayor’s Office, and much pressure from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and CPS families to get students back to school as soon as possible. Finally compromising on the list of demands, CTU, CPS, and the Mayor’s Office agreed to, among other provisions, a 16% raise for teachers, smaller class sizes, full-time nurses and social workers, and more staffing for special education and English learners. Additionally, they notably agreed that CPS buildings and property would be declared immigration sanctuary spaces for students and those at CPS on school-related business.

Some of these demands will take effect immediately, while others will have to be phased in by year. For example, while CPS has promised $35 million annually to help with class-size caps, new limits can’t be enforced until the 2020-2021 school year. In addition, CPS says all schools will have at least one full-time nurse and social worker every day by July 2023 with the goal of beginning to match schools with nurses and social workers on an as-needed basis prior to 2023.

As part of the last portion of their agreement, CPS is allowing teachers and students to make up five of the eleven instructional days missed. Today (11/5/19), they proposed the following make-up dates, Wednesday, November 27th; Thursday, January 2nd; Friday, January 3rd; Wednesday, June 17th; and Thursday, June 18th. CPS commented in a tweet, “The make-up days must be scheduled on days on which teachers would not otherwise be paid, which severely limited the district’s options.”

The Board of Education will vote on the official budget, updated calendar, and agreements put forth by the CTU and CPS at their meeting on November 20th, 2019. 

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Academic Center Entrance Exam (ACEE)

The Academic Center Entrance Exam (ACEE) was designed by the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Access and Enrollment specifically for Chicago’s 6th grade students applying to Academic Centers. Unlike other standardized tests such as the NWEA MAP, the ACEE measures critical thinking skills, reasoning, and problem solving, much like an IQ test. At 90 minutes in length, the exam boasts 9 sections, each being 10 minutes long. It includes both verbal and non-verbal sections such as verbal analogies, vocabulary and sentence completion, word classification, geometric sequences, geometric analogies, number series, and paper folding, respectively.  

 Like the Selective Enrollment High School Exam (SEHS), the exact format of the exam is kept a secret, and there are no practice or past tests available from CPS. However, Test Prep Chicago’s material is exceedingly close to the actual test, which we know based on exit interviews we have conducted with past students who have taken it. To learn more about our curriculum and how to take an ACEE practice test, visit testprepchicago.com.

Lastly, for Chicago Public School, private, and parochial school students alike, the Academic Center Entrance Exam is administered in the winter of students’ 6th grade year, usually in early February. To sign up for a test date and to apply for an Academic Center, visit the CPS website. Stop by our website to check out the dates for our Academic Center prep courses. 

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of Academic Centers

Do you want to avoid the complexities of the high school selective enrollment process, but still want your student to attend a competitive school? An Academic Center may be for you!

Academic Centers, which are similar to middle schools, are housed in high schools and provide a college preparatory program for seventh and eighth-grade students. If a student is admitted into an Academic Center, he or she is automatically granted admission to that Academic Center’s affiliated high school. A few highly sought-after Academic Centers in Chicago include Brooks, Kenwood, Lane Tech, Lindblom, Morgan Park, Taft, and Whitney Young.

The application process for Academic Centers is almost indistinguishable from the Selective Enrollment process; however, instead of the process beginning in 7th grade, students must begin testing in 5th grade. Much like Selective Enrollment, the Academic Center admission process works on a 900-point scale.

The first third of points available come from a student’s 5th-grade grades in math, English, science, and social studies. Each A grade is the equivalent of 75 points, totaling at 300 points, or 1/3 of the 900 points obtainable. Each B grade results in 50 points, each C grade results in 25 points and no points are awarded for grades of D or F.

The second third of the 900 points come from a student’s NWEA MAP scores. For CPS students, the official score will be taken from their spring NWEA MAP in 5th grade, while non-CPS students will get their official score from their fall NWEA MAP in 6th grade. This test is divided into two sections: math and reading. Each section is worth 150 points, totaling at 300.

The final third of students’ points are taken from their Academic Center Entrance Exam (AC Exam). The AC Exam includes 9 sections, each at 10 minutes long. Unlike other standardized tests like the NWEA MAP, the AC Exam measures critical thinking skills, reasoning, and problem-solving, much like an IQ test. This test is administered in the winter of their 6th-grade year, usually in early February. 

In addition to the 900 points, students will also need to fill out an Academic Center application using the CPS website. On the application, parents will have to declare in which tiered neighborhood the student lives (to find out in what tier your neighborhood is, visit the CPS website). The final score a student needs out of 900 for each school (for example, 850/900 for Lane Tech or 880/900 for Taft) will be determined by their socio-economic tier. These applications are usually open in October and are due in mid-December, but you can find official dates on the CPS website.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Chicago Teacher Strike

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have yet to reach an agreement over teachers’ contracts. As a result, CTU voted on Friday, September 27, to authorize a strike. The strike itself will take place next week on October 17, 2019, adding a new level of urgency for both parties as the days grow closer and closer.

However, in the past, authorized strikes haven’t always led to a strike since the immense inconvenience a strike inevitably poses leads parties to reach an agreement before the actual date. Many are hopeful that this will be the case. On the contrary, if an agreement is not met, CTU (and their 25,000 union educators) are prepared to follow through. In addition, Park District employees have also recently agreed to participate in the strike, adding even more fuel to the fire.

Within the contractual agreement between CPS and CTU, teachers are requesting higher salaries, lower student-to-teacher ratios, and more nurses, librarians, and special education professionals. CPS is trying to accommodate these requests, but so far, their offers were unsatisfactory. While the idea of a teacher strike isn’t desirable for either party, it would hopefully expedite negotiations.

Thousands of CPS families and community members are equally invested in a resolution between the school district and the union. Closed schools mean students wouldn’t have a place to go during the day, and now that Park Districts are joining in, the displacement of tens of thousands of students seems a likely and very scary possibility for Chicagoans. Young students would require childcare, and older students would miss out on extracurricular activities and athletics. Students receiving free or reduced lunches will be without a school-provided meal, adding financial strain to Chicago families.

Additionally, Test Prep Chicago courses offered at CPS schools and Park Districts will need be rescheduled should there be a strike. Our courses will continue once the strike ends and we will add make-up classes to the end of any course affected by the strikes.  While CPS and CTU are bargaining to find the best results, which will empower teachers to better serve their students and school communities, we hope they are able to do so very soon. 

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

CPS Announces Selective Enrollment High School Entrance Exam (SEHS) Test Dates

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has announced the test dates for the Selective Enrollment High School Entrance Exam (SEHS). This year, the SEHS will be offered 7 times. The 7 dates are listed below.

SEHS Test Dates 
Saturday, November 16
Saturday, December 7
Saturday, December 14
Sunday, December 15
Saturday, January 18
Sunday, January 19
Saturday, January 25

The SEHS will be offered at five sites:  King College Preparatory High School, Lane Tech High School, Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Westinghouse College Preparatory High School, and Whitney Young Magnet High School.

Applicants who apply using the GoCPS online application will schedule their exam after they submit their application. Applicants who apply using a paper application will have their test scheduled by the Office of Access and Enrollment and will be notified of their test date, time, and location via U.S. mail.

The application process for the 2019-2020 school year opens September 30 and ends December 6th.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

High School Entrance Exam Prep Course at Test Prep Chicago

Every fall, Test Prep Chicago offers classes which encompass all three high school entrance exams: the selective enrollment high school entrance exam (SEHS), the independent school entrance exam (ISEE), and the high school placement test (HSPT). Over the course of eight weeks, students dive into the content of the tests, test-taking strategies, as well as the formatting and timing of each test. Though eight weeks may seem like a short amount of time to prepare for three tests, its an exceedingly accessible time frame given the likeness of each exam.

First, the content is exceedingly alike. Each of the tests include math (up through geometry), reading comprehension, vocabulary, and language skills (multiple choice for SEHS and HSPT, essay for ISEE). Given these similarities, students studying for any or all exams are able to work toward reviewing or learning the same concepts. Where there are a few differences, such as the essay section on the ISEE, students studying specifically for the ISEE will be provided with supplementary, exam- specific material for homework. However, since the student is engaging in language and grammar in our class, they will still be getting their fair share of in-class language and grammar prep for the ISEE. Additionally, another commonality on the tests is that there is no calculator permitted, nor is there a guessing penalty.

Next, the time permitted to take each test ranges from two hours and thirty minutes to three hours.  Accordingly, the stamina needed to build up in order to successfully take each exam is almost indistinguishable. The only exception is that the HSPT has quite a few more questions than the other two exams. Similar to the essay section with the ISEE, supplementary materials will be provided for those students who wish to work on specifically on quickly getting through many questions that the HSPT will inevitably have.

Lastly, since the formatting of each exam is slightly different, we include questions formatted in the likeness of each exam so students feel fully prepared. If our comprehensive high school entrance exam prep course sounds like the right fit for your student, visit testprepchicago.com and sign up for a prep course today!

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266