If you are a parent of a soon-to-be middle schooler in Chicago, you may have heard about Chicago Public School’s Academic Centers. Academic Centers are accelerated programs specifically for 7th and 8th grade students that allow students to take high school level courses. If a student is accepted into an Academic Center, the student is automatically granted admission to the Academic Center’s affiliated high school. Many of these Academic Centers are affiliated with CPS’s highly acclaimed Selective Enrollment high schools, such as Lane Tech and Whitney Young.
Typically, students apply to Academic Centers during 6th grade. Navigating the application process can be extremely difficult for many families, especially when it involves ranking school choices and taking the entrance exam. Below, we will walk you through the most important information about applying to an Academic Center, and how you can best support your student through this process.
The Application
The Academic Center application is the same application you use to apply to any Chicago Public School. It is completed through the GoCPS platform at www.cps.edu/GoCPS. As part of the application, you can select up to 20 Choice Programs and 6 Selective Enrollment schools outside of your own neighborhood school’s attendance boundary. It’s important to research each program to determine the best fit for your student, and for your family.
Choice Schools include: Magnet Schools, Magnet Clusters, Open Enrollment Schools, Dual Language Schools
Selective Enrollment Schools include: Academic Centers, Classical Schools, Regional Gifted Centers, Regional Gifted Centers for English Learners
Next, the application will ask you to rank your Choice programs from 1-20 in order of preference, and rank your Selective Enrollment programs from 1-6, most desirable to least desirable. It’s important to note that ranking a program higher does not increase your chances of getting an offer, but your preferences are taken into consideration. Make sure you rank programs in the true order of preference with the most preferred as #1.
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Since Academic Centers are considered a Selective Enrollment school, students are required to complete an admissions test as part of the application. The Academic Center entrance exam is also known as the Regional Gifted Exam. This exam is required for students applying to both the Academic Centers and K-8 Regional Gifted Centers.
Regional Gifted Exam
The Regional Gifted Exam (RGE) is very similar to an IQ test. According to CPS, it is “a reasoning skills test that taps into the student’s ability to form abstract concepts and solve problems using novel information.”
The Format
The paper-and-pencil exam includes 6 sections: 3 verbal and 3 non-verbal. The sections test relationships between words, letters, shapes, and numbers. While the specific sections vary from year-to-year, possible sections include: Verbal Classifications, Sentence Completion, Verbal Analogies, Sentence Arrangement, Number Series, Figural Series, Number Puzzles, Figural Analogies, Paper Folding, and Matrices. The test takes approximately 2 hours to complete, and students are not allowed to use calculators.
Test Dates
The RGE is typically taken by 6th graders in January/February (though 7th graders can take the exam as well). Students register for a specific test date while filling out the Academic Center application through GoCPS. Students can only take the exam once per academic year.
Scoring
A student’s score will be out of 600 total points with the RGE making up 50% of points and their 5th grade grades making up the other 50%. Students’ points are calculated using a Scoring Rubric.
The RGE points are determined by subtracting a student’s score from 160, multiplying the result by 2.5, and subtracting that result from 300 to get a maximum of 300 points. For example, a student who receives a score of 150 will receive 275 points.
The number of points a student receives for their 5th Grade grades is determined by the student’s overall grades in Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Each ‘A’ grade is worth 75 points, each ‘B’ grade is worth 50 points, and each ‘C’ grade is worth 25 points. No points are awarded for ‘D’ or ‘F’ grades. The highest possible points a student can receive for their 5th Grade grades is 300.
The Admission Process
Initial program offers are usually released in mid-late March, allowing students about a month to accept or decline their offer.
Students are ranked for every program that they applied to based on their point totals, in descending point order. The top 30% of the available seats are for the highest performing students, regardless of their tier. Students are then placed into their respective tiers in descending point order. The remaining seats at a program are equally divided across the 4 tiers.
*Students shown in green were awarded a seat at this program.
**Cut Score is the lowest score admitted in each tier during the initial offer process.
A Word on Tiers
Chicago is divided into four tiers based on census data and many other factors including education level and owner-occupied homes. The first tier represents the lowest-income areas. Seats at Choice and Selective Enrollment schools are divided amongst the four tiers to ensure equal access to the programs offered by the district. You can look up your tier by using this map. Please note, an address’s tier may change over time based on updated census data. You can learn more about the CPS Tiers Here.
Student Support
As the Academic Center entrance exam is closer to an IQ test than it is an academic test, preparing for it can be challenging. However, there are ways to support your student ahead of the exam.
Our research indicates that the entrance exam is similar in scope to the OLSAT and/or the CoGAT. These are standardized, cognitive ability tests used by many schools throughout the country. Having your student complete a workbook aligned to these tests will help familiarize them with the types of questions they might see on testing day. These workbooks can be found online or at your local, independent bookstore.
Additionally, because 50% of a student’s score is based on their 5th Grade grades, it can be beneficial to enroll them in academic tutoring to bring up their overall grades. With 25 years of experience, Academic Approach has supported Chicago students and families through this ordeal many times before and has an incredible team of outstanding instructors ready to help. Give us a call and sign your student up for academic tutoring now!
