CPS classical test.

[Amy]

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.

[Truth]

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.

[Amy]

Thank you. Any other advice? For reading, what should she be able to read if she is applying for 1st grade?

[Amy]

Are the first grade tests still one on one like kg?

[ChiMama]

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.

[Amy]

Thank you. What about the reading portion of this exam? Are they not expected to read?

[Truth]

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.

[Amy]

Thank you. Then if you don’t mind me asking, what reading questions can they ask?

[Truth]

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.

[Truth]

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).

[Amy]

Thank you. Do iready scores have any correlation to the classical exam?

[rvmom]

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).

[Think Academy]

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

[CPSdad]

Came across this article that may be useful to some here.

Nine Objective Criteria to Evaluate Math Enrichment Programs

[Darien]

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.

[Tue]

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?

[The Critical Thinking Child]

Hi
Our in-person test prep bootcamps are back!!! Small groups and mock practice for the real exam. The Critical Thinking Child provides test prep services to current Pre-K and kindergarten students for required admissions tests for public, private, and independent schools.

This includes:

CPS gifted and classical K-1 (SEES)
Gifted/Talented exams (GATE)
Early entrance to Kindergarten
Additionally, we specialize in preparing students for standardized tests like IAR, i-Ready, Star 360 and REACH

https://www.thecriticalthinkingchild.com/prek-kindergarten-test-prep/

The Critical Thinking Child

[PLP]

I am sorry, but I think you need to beef up your substantive materials and content as well as not to overpromise. Several parents who we know bought materials from The Critical Thinking Child (which are pretty expensive), and one mom showed them to me, and it is clear the quality is very poor, the content is very basic, and there are other workbooks on amazon and beyond that are much cheaper and much more effective. Some kids who we know also participated in your classes, and they did not even get on waitlists this year. Sorry, I had to write this because I want other parents to know the feedback that is coming from at least from 4-5 families who we know…

[Author]

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