CPS Selective Enrollment Scoring Stays the Same with PreACT 9 Secure

Since Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced the replacement of the High School Admissions Test (HSAT) with the PreACT 9 Secure for their Selective Enrollment admissions exam, the question on everyone’s minds has been: will PreACT 9 Secure scores continue to make up 50% of applicants’ overall application score? Or will the PreACT 9 Secure scores be weighted differently?

The good news is that the scoring equation Selective Enrollment families have come to rely on (50% Seventh Grade Grades and 50% Exam Score) is not changing. A student’s PreACT 9 Secure score (1–32), will be multiplied by 10, with a maximum score of 320 (32 x 10 = 320). A student’s seventh-grade grades in core subjects (Math, Reading, Science, and Social Studies) will be multiplied by 80, with a maximum score of 320 (4.0 x 80 = 320). Those two section scores are then added together.

CPS’s calculation worksheet can be found below and here.

Note that certain Selective Enrollment programs provide a 35-point bonus for “students who reside within a school’s geographic location just prior to selections,” which means those programs will be evaluated out of a total of 675 points, instead of 640 points.

Although the PreACT 9 Secure exam is twice as long as the previous exam, there is far more information available about it and (as a shortened version of the ACT test students will take their junior year for college admissions) preparing for this test benefits students far beyond high school admissions.

However, one lingering question does remain. Because the ACT and PreACT’s composite scores no longer include Science (they are composed of a student’s English, Math, and Reading scores), it is not known if CPS will require Selective Enrollment applicants to take the optional Science section and submit that score in addition to their composite score. We will continue to keep you informed as we learn more.