Academic Center Admission Test Raw Score Question

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    • #15268 Reply
      Mara
      Participant

      Does anyone know, based on past years or other experience, a ballpark estimate of how the raw score of an academic center admissions test compares to the percentile?

      More specifically, I’m trying to get an idea of what percent correct my daughter should be getting on a CogAT practice test to have a chance at making the Tier 3 Academic Center cutoff for Whitney Young.

      I know there are a lot of variables at play, but right now I have absolutely no clue if Whitney Young is even an option for her. We are on the far south side and I am very confident she will at least get an offer from her second choice school, Brooks. She has all A’s on her report card.

       

    • #15271 Reply
      EIL
      Guest

      Looks like this website has a point calculator based on your tier. Not sure how accurate it is and looks like it just show the minimal points required to be considered.

      https://testprepchicago.com/about-6th-grade-testing

    • #15272 Reply
      cps-thoughts
      Guest

      Let’s say you want to get into Lane and live in Tier 4. Last year, a straight-A student would need a minimum score of 141. Based on the info I could find online, for CogAT that score that’s being reported by CPS and used in selections is the SAS. If they’re using OLSAT, it’s SAI. 2.27% of test takers score above 132 on the OLSAT, so you’d probably need 99th percentile in this case. For CogAT, best info I can find suggests that an SAS in the 99th percentile starts in the 130s somewhere, so you’d need a percentile score in the 99th percentile there too. The percentile score your child needs depends on which program you’re aiming for and what tier you’re in, though.

      • #15281 Reply
        VoodooUS
        Participant

        The score you mentioned 141 if you are in Tier 4 is 141 from what? How much is the total questions? I think you mean to answer 141 questions correct? or I understand wrong?

        • #15282 Reply
          cps-thoughts
          Guest

          The 141 is a scale score. It’s not a percentage, and it’s not the total number correct out of a particular number of questions. It’s more like an IQ score, where a score of 100 represents the 50th percentile.

          • #15283 Reply
            VoodooUS
            Participant

            Well it is 141 from what still? is it from 150? How can I find more about this? If my son left 1 question not answered because time was out. Should he be nervous? He is all A in 5th grade and we live in tier 2 area?

            • #15284 Reply
              cps-thoughts
              Guest

              It depends on what test they’re using. If it’s the CogAT, the maximum score is 160. If it’s the OLSAT, the maximum score is 150.

              These were the minimum Tier 2 scores for straight-A students last year:

              Brooks: 63

              Kenwood: 72

              Lane: 124

              Lindblom: 61

              Morgan Park: N/A

              Taft: 93

              Young: 129

              • #15285 Reply
                VoodooUS
                Participant

                Ty for replying. I guess I am too nervous. I saw those scores from the link shared up. I am trying to feel if he can pass the test .. He did all he can and studied hard etc.

                • #15286 Reply
                  ApplePie
                  Guest

                  I thought they are not supposed to study for the academic center test? What did he even study?

                  • #15287 Reply
                    VoodooUS
                    Participant

                    The test have several sections like quantitative reasoning, Figural analogies, Paper folding etc ..

      • #15299 Reply
        Mara
        Participant

        Thank you so much for sharing! I had been assuming that the kids in the 99 percentile were basically getting 100% on the test, so it’s good to know that’s not the case. Even if we assumed a cogAT score of 140/160, that’s much more attainable than 160/160 😅.

         

        I recall a post on this forum stating that there were kids with a perfect 900 score who didn’t get accepted to Payton HS last year. I was confused how they could tie-break in these situations, but it makes more sense to realize one “99 percentile” child may have had a raw score of 95% while another “99 percentile” child had a raw score of 88%…

        • This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Mara.
        • #15305 Reply
          cps_life
          Participant

          Tie breakers for the 900 point students are based on the percentile scores of the 4 test components but still not the raw scores. We will never know the raw scores.

          • #15315 Reply
            Mara
            Participant

            But what if the tiebreaker is between two (or more) kids who got 900’s and got 99 percentile on every single one of the sections? I mean they aren’t going to just flip a coin right?

            What I mean is maybe we will never see the raw scores ourselves, but they can see them for the purposes of tiebreaking.

            • This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Mara.
            • This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Mara.
            • #15318 Reply
              8th grade mom
              Guest

              <p style=”text-align: left;”>They do essentially flip a coin in that case.  Per CPSgo, in a case of a tie after the tiebreakers, it’s a lottery based on chance.</p>

              • #15332 Reply
                Mara
                Guest

                Wow, considering the wide range of scores that are “99 percentile” this doesn’t seem fair.  If only CPS could provide a high quality education for all our children, not just a lucky few… At our neighborhood school (where my kids are enrolled), only 14% of children meet proficiency standards for math. 😔

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