CPS High School Admissions Test Dates Announced

NOVEMBER TESTING DATES ANNOUNCED FOR CPS HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS EXAM

Beginning this year, the Chicago Public Schools will not use the NWEA MAP exam for the GoCPS eligibility or selection process for any schools or programs. For students applying to ninth grade, no schools or programs will have minimum eligibility requirements based on NWEA. Instead, a single admissions exam, the CPS High School Admissions Test, will be available for all students.

The CPS High School Admissions Test will be available to all current CPS students applying to ninth grade on Tuesday, November 9th, 2021. Students will take the exam at their school during the school day.

The CPS High School Admissions Test will be available to all non-CPS students applying to ninth grade at a designated CPS location on the following dates:

  • Saturday, November 13th, 2021
  • Sunday, November 14th, 2021
  • Saturday, November 20th, 2021
  • Sunday, November 21st, 2021

Registration information for all students will be forthcoming.

For Non-CPS students, these are the four testing dates for this application cycle. Please hold these dates now to ensure that you are available to test if you are planning to apply to a CPS high school.

Using one test will streamline the GoCPS application process by decreasing the number of exams required, and allowing the same single exam to be applied to the selection processes for all programs, where applicable.

For students applying to fifth through eighth grades, eligibility to take the admissions exam(s) for academic centers, classical schools and regional gifted centers will be based on GPA. Dates for these exams will be released at a later date.

We look forward to a great year ahead, and our staff is here to support your family through the application process. You can contact our office by phone at 773-553-2060, or via email at [email protected].

See below for an informational webinar and FAQs on the admissions process for the 2022-2023 school year.INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR

This was from https://go.cps.edu/admissiontest/high-school

Spring 2021 CPS High School Notification Links

The first round of CPS High School Notifications for 2021-2022 were released on April 30, 2021. Depending on whether an 8th grade student applied to test based Selective Enrollment High Schools (SEHS) and/or non-test based Choice High Schools (including IB, Magnet, CTE, Military, Charter, etc), a student can have up to 3 public high school choices: one offer for SEHS, one for Choice, and their neighborhood high school.

Any Round 1 offers must be accepted or declined by May 14, 2021. Waitlists will open on May 17, but families should understand that not all high schools go to a waitlist, including at least half of the SEHS.

1st Round Cutoff scores for 2021-2021 SEHS:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/14i_837GQCPcWnvU2feSN6mzPssnhVNDR/view

1st Round Cutoff scores for 2021-2021 Choice HS (note- not all programs have cutoff scores):  https://drive.google.com/file/d/14YCGhBy3uK4xiTxOG2mAjvOUd7Gp2SiR/view

SEHS Principal’s Discretion is only for students who applied to Selective Enrollment High Schools (SEHS) but would like to enter a holistic appeal process that allows an SEHS Principal to select 5% of the freshman class for another SEHS on their list. SEHS PD opens May 5 and closes May 19. Results will be posted the week of June 14. A packet of information detailing the steps and timing as well as helpful FAQs are linked from here: https://go.cps.edu/high-school/principal-discretion

The GoCPS Round 2 process is for any programs that have not filled their seats from Round 1. The programs offering Round 2 seats will be listed around May 17, and the Round 2 application opens on May 17 and closes on May 21. Results will be released on June 18.

CPS 2020-2021 SEHS Principal’s Discretion

From https://go.cps.edu/high-school/principal-discretion

The Principal Discretion application period for the 2020-2021 school year opens at 9 am on April 27th and ends at 6 pm on May 8th. Click the links below to access the Principal Discretion Handbook and Frequently Asked Questions. The handbook provides step-by-step instructions for submitting a Principal Discretion Application Package and contains the guidelines and requirements for the process.

In light of the transition of the Chicago Public Schools to remote learning, Application Packages will be accepted online, and detailed instructions will be provided to help you with the submission process. Starting at 9 am on April 27th, the online submission portal will be accessible on this page. If you are unable to submit your package online, please call the Office of Access and Enrollment at 773-553-2060, weekdays between 8 am and 6 pm, for alternate submission options.

If you have questions after you review the documents below, contact the Office of Access and Enrollment at 773-553-2060, weekdays between 8 am and 6 pm, or [email protected].

Principal’s Discretion Handbook 2020-2021

Principal’s Discretion FAQs 2020-2021

CPS 2020-2021 Applications are Open

Apply now to high school, elementary school, and 3 magnet preschools via www.go.cps.edu now through Dec. 13, 2019. https://go.cps.edu/about-gocps

Non-CPS Students: Register for 5-9th Grade CPS NWEA Testing

Non-CPS students who are interested in applying for 5th-9th grade CPS programs for Fall 2020 should be sure to take the CPS administered NWEA Map tests.  CPS requires this qualifying test of reading and math to be taken by all non-CPS students applying to selective programs in those upper grades. Students can register by August 30 to take the tests on Sept. 21, 22, 28, 29 or Oct. 5 or 6.  All students who test by those dates will be able to use the online GoCPS application system.  All current CPS students will have their spring NWEA Map scores used for qualifications and rubric calculations. GoCPS applications are open 9/30/19-12/6/19.

Spring 2019- CPS High School Notification Links

Results finally came out after a jam in the online notification portal, but here are some relevant links to study at your leisure.

Round 1 SEHS Cutoff Scores: https://cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/gocps/GoCPS_Cutoff_SEHS_2019.pdf

Round 1 Choice (Non-selective) Cutoff Scores: https://cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/gocps/GoCPS_Cutoff_Choice_2019.pdf

SEHS Principal’s Discretion Handbook (this allows an SEHS Principal to select 5% of the freshman class via a holistic admissions method): https://cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/gocps/PrincipalDiscretionHandbook.pdf

SEHS Principal’s Discretion FAQs: https://cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/gocps/PrincipalDiscretionFAQs.pdf

GoCPS also has some helpful videos to aide in understanding how to interpret the results: https://go.cps.edu/high-school/selection

Good luck to the 8th graders! Wherever you end up, make the most of your time there as high school breezes by so quickly!

CPS HS Notifications for 2019-2020

CPS recently announced the date for 8th graders to hear about first round notifications. This is considered the “Selection” phase per GoCPS and here is their info:

The first activity in the Selection phase will be the release of Round 1 high school results on March 29, 2019.

Families who applied using the online application site will receive their results via their online GoCPS account. Families who applied with a paper application will receive a letter via U.S. mail. Paper applicant families will also be able to receive their results via an online GoCPS account that was created for them by the Office of Access and Enrollment. Notifications will be sent between March 25 and 28 to provide instructions on how to retrieve results.

Below is a complete timeline of dates related to the Selection phase for ninth grade applicants.  It has also been posted in the ‘Important Dates’ section of the GoCPS home page where you can monitor for future updates.

·         March 29: First-round results released

·         April 12: Deadline to accept or decline first-round offers

·         April 17: First-round waitlist process opens

·         April 29: Second-round application process opens

·         May 6: Second-round application deadline

·         May 31: Second-round results released

·         June 7: Deadline to accept or decline second-round offers

·         June 12: Second-round waitlist process opens

Good luck to all expectant 8th graders!

Non-CPS Applicants for 2019-2020 CPS High Schools to Register for MAP

CPS will be administering the Reading & Math NWEA MAP tests to rising non-CPS 8th graders this September.  Check out more info HERE: https://cps.edu/sitecollectiondocuments/gocps/GoCPS-NWEA-NonCPSRegistration.pdf and online at GoCPS.

From the pdf:

“Dear Non-CPS School Parent:

As you may know, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) currently utilizes the Northwestern Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) for the eligibility/selection process for students applying to schools with academic requirements, including, but not limited to, CTE-College and Career Academies, International Baccalaureate High Schools, Magnet High Schools, Military Academies, and Selective Enrollment Elementary and High Schools.

The NWEA MAP will be offered free of charge for students who did not attend a CPS school during the 2017-2018 school year, are not currently enrolled at a CPS school, and will be applying for the 2019-2020 school year to grades 5-9 for schools with academic requirements.

The test is a two-part assessment: math and reading. Typically, the test is administered on two separate days; if you like, you can indicate your preference to have your child take both sections of the test on the same date. The test will be administered on September 15-16, 2018; September 22-23, 2018; and September 29-30, 2018. There will be two sessions offered on each of these days.

In order for students to be scheduled to test, the registration form must be received by the Office of Access and Enrollment no later than September 7, 2018. The test will be offered at four sites: Curie Metropolitan High School, Lane Tech High School, Lindblom Math and Science Academy, and Westinghouse College Preparatory High School. Students will be scheduled for the test location closest to their home address. PLEASE NOTE that your child cannot be considered for any school with minimum eligibility requirements if he/she does not take the NWEA MAP that is administered by the Chicago Public Schools system.

Please complete the attached NWEA MAP registration form and submit it to the Office of Access and Enrollment, indicating your preferred test weekend, as well as whether you want your child to take the test on one day or two. Note that indicating your preferred test weekend does not guarantee that your child will be scheduled for that weekend. Students will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. CPS will put test notification letters in the U.S. mail, to the home address on the registration form, one week prior to the student’s first test date. Reminder notifications will be sent as well, via robocall and email.

Please carefully review the NWEA MAP application and related material. Should you have additional questions after you review this information, please contact the Office of Access and Enrollment at 773-553-2060 or [email protected].”

Helpful FAQs can be found here: https://cps.edu/sitecollectiondocuments/gocps/GoCPS-NWEA-FAQ.pdf

CPS High School from Fall 2017: Continuing the Discussion from CPSO

GoCPS is adding features to be a great resource for Chicago families.

For those looking to discuss the 2018-2019 application cycle for CPS High school options, feel free to check out the threads at CPSObsessed- High School Application News Fall 2017 and continue your thoughts either in the comments below or on the School Forum pages.