Home › Forums › Chicago Public Schools (CPS) › CPS Elementary Schools › Selective Enrollment Elementary Schools (SEES) › CPS classical test.
- This topic has 15 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 1 week, 5 days ago by Tue.
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AmyGuest
Hi everyone. We are testing my daughter for the CPS classical program this year, for entrance into 1st grade during year 2025-26. How should we go about prepping her for this? What should she be able to do for this exam? And has anyone used testing mom? Thx.
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TruthGuest
Testingmom was useless for us. We tried various workbooks and tutors, and because you never know what will be on the exam, it is always hit or miss. I would just read with the kiddo and do some basic K-1-2 grade workbooks in math. As a result, my daughter got into several RGCs and Classical schools without any extra prep. We ended up staying in our neighborhood school as we do not have a car.
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AmyGuest
Thank you. Any other advice? For reading, what should she be able to read if she is applying for 1st grade?
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AmyGuest
Are the first grade tests still one on one like kg?
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ChiMamaGuest
No. First grade tests are small group tests (about 10 kids). They are paper and pencil. I think they progress through the test all together so at least much of it is read aloud and the child marks the correct answer. The group leaves and returns all together.
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AmyGuest
Thank you. What about the reading portion of this exam? Are they not expected to read?
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TruthGuest
No reading was required for the first grade entry. All questions are being read to students and they only have to choose the right answer in their own booklet. They have to finish the booklet.
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AmyGuest
Thank you. Then if you don’t mind me asking, what reading questions can they ask?
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TruthGuest
My child said there were a lot of pictures and word analogies, so a teacher could ask a question about a specific word and the kiddo had to identify this word in the book by looking at pictures. No reading was required.
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TruthGuest
While people say you have to prepare 1-2 grades above, this was not necessary in my opinion. If a child enters 1 grade, it is sufficient for him to know K-1 grade material and read basic books (see Scholastic ABC books).
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AmyGuest
Thank you. Do iready scores have any correlation to the classical exam?
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rv_logistics_magic_momParticipant
I’ve had two kids take the kindergarten admittance classical test and later take I-Ready assessments. In both cases, their percentiles were similar across both tests (within 5-10 percentile points).
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Think AcademyGuest
Hi!
As Classical test is more like an achievement test (i.e. to test how advanced your kid is at the pace of studying), it should correlates with other general achievement tests like iReady and MAP.If you are interested in a short-term program or some evaluation for the progress of your kid, we offer mock test & short-term classes for achievement test preparation, as well as long-term program for math study. Please check out:
https://www.thethinkacademy.com/courses/list?grade=46&courseType=2_4&platformType=4&term=3
Think Academy Early Childhood
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CPSdadGuest
Came across this article that may be useful to some here.
Nine Objective Criteria to Evaluate Math Enrichment Programs
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DarienGuest
Anyone know what the format is for 1st graders taking gifted and/or classical tests for 2nd grade starting fall 2025? For example, are they expected to read their own questions? Are the tests taken on an ipad or other screen, or are they conducted with paper and pencil? Many thanks for any tips.
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TueGuest
Paper and pencil, no bubble sheets, all questions are still being read to students entering 2 grade.
Question to anyone testing for 3 grade entry? Are students already reading on their own? Are they using bubble sheets?
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