Learn to obsess about Academic Centers
September 15, 2009
A reader contacted me recently about CPS’ Academic Centers, thinking readers might be interested in learning more about them. I’d heard about the Whitney Young program briefly when I toured Decatur. Since that school only goes up to 6th grade, they do their best to try to get their students placed in these centers. Besides that, I knew nothing about them, but was thrilled (ha ha) to learn that there is yet another step I can obsesses about before High School application time arrives.
Academic Centers: Hidden Gems
What’s an Academic Center? And why might you care?
One of Chicago Public Schools’ best kept secrets are its Academic Centers. These are middle schools that offer accelerated programs for 7th and 8th graders and a guaranteed path into their associated high schools.
Four of Chicago’s six Academic Centers rank among the top 50 middle schools in the State of Illinois. On average, students from all six Academic Centers scored 35% above national norms on the EXPLORE test, a predictor of ACT performance. These Academic Centers are: Harlan Community Academy, Kenwood Academy, Lindblom Math & Science Academy, Morgan Park High School, Taft High School, and Whitney Young.
Two of these Academic Centers (Whitney Young and Lindblom) are associated with a Selective Enrollment High School. So if your child is admitted to the Whitney Young or Lindblom Academic Center, he or she automatically gets a spot in the High School. Nice…
Many parents are relatively unaware of Academic Centers. Since most elementary schools run through 8th grade, school administrators often do not proactively provide parents with information about these schools. Surprisingly, in some cases information generated by these schools themselves is sparse.
Admission to these programs is based on 5th grade ISATs and grades and a special entrance exam that is given in 6th grade. Some schools (those that only go up to 6th grade) give the entrance exam at the school whereas other families need to apply and go to a central testing location.
For more information about Academic Centers and the Academic Center admissions process, check out:
http://www.selectiveprep.com/6th-academic-center-overview
(Selective Prep is a company who can help kids study for the entrance exam they take in 6th grade.)
From me: So is it worth the stress of trying to get a 5th grader concentrating on their grades and having them take an entrance exam in 6th grade? Well, if you’re looking to get into Whitney Young (and who isn’t) it probably makes sense to have your child take the test and give it a try. You always have another (probably more competitive) chance going into high school.
If your child is in a school that you feel isn’t academically challenging but they haven’t tested into a gifted program, this could also be a chance for more accelerated classwork and better preparation for high school.
The tough part, of course, would be deciding whether to move your child in 7th grade if you’re happy with your current school (and possibly facing the wrath of an angry pre-teen.)
Entry Filed under: Academic Centers,CPS Policy / Resources. Tags: CPS academic centers, whitney young academic centers.
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1. 5th grade mom | September 15, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Thanks for this post. Academic Centers have always been on my radar but I didn’t (though I should have) realized that admission was based on 5th grade ISAT’s.
As a fifth grade mom I was wondering if there are any parents out there who have used different programs to help students with the ISAT’s. Kumon? ? / Score? ? ? something else? ? ? .
2. chicago parent | September 16, 2009 at 7:44 am
SelectivePrep has a 7th grade ISAT program since the 7th grade ISAT is 30% of the Selective Enrollment admissions score. Some K-6 schools are looking for a 5th grade level class to address this issue.
3. Mayfair Dad | September 16, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Don’t forget about the IB Prep programs at Lincoln Elementary and Ogden International School. Both are considered feeder schools into Lincoln Park High School IB Diploma program, although many IB Prep kids are accepted into selective enrollment High Schools.
IB Prep program starts in sixth grade, so admission is also based on 5th grade + attendance + entrance exam + ISAT scores = a maximum of 1,000 points. Typically 1,000 kids test for 60 spots. Bussing provided since it is considered a gifted program.
4. hopeful | September 16, 2009 at 4:39 pm
McPherson also has an IB program. They are located at Lawrence and Ravenswood.
5. Y | September 17, 2009 at 12:09 am
I went through an academic center years ago and had a great experience. I was able to take high school algebra and Latin in 7th grade and start with a full freshman load of classes in 8th grade, which led to expanded opportunities in high school and college. From recent test scores, there is a concern about the performance of some of the high school components of the academic centers. It looks like the students in academic centers (7 and 8th grades) perform well but the students in the high school are not (non-passing AP scores and low exceeding percentages on standardized tests). This might indicate that students are transferring to other schools for HS or are not getting the level of instruction needed at the HS of the academic center.
6. Y | September 17, 2009 at 12:25 am
Lindblom is a SE high school but I would put them in a lower tier than Whitney Young. Only 3% of Lindblom students exceed state standards where 1/3 of WY students exceed.
7. chicago dad | September 17, 2009 at 10:17 am
I’ve heard from kids who have taken the test—if your child takes the Academic Center Admissions test, be prepared—the questions are a lot different from the usual ISAT questions. There are some math and vocabulary questions, but no reading. Most importantly, there are “figural” questions which give your child a series of shapes and ask your child for the next logical figure in the sequence. There are math sequence questions, too. There are even a few logic questions.
8. curious | September 17, 2009 at 10:41 am
On Wednesday, my scholastic academy second grader was tested for placement level class. All of the kids were tested on laptop computers with a laptop mouse. I’m just wondering how accurate those tests can be. My dd for one, has never touched a laptop and spent huge amounts of time trying to move the screen up and down. What about the kids who don’t have a computer in the home at all? (Yes, I’m sure they exist). So evidently, the test is also a test of computer skills…BUT does it accurately test reading/comprehension?
9. chicago parent | September 17, 2009 at 11:45 am
Dear curious: It sounds like there may be some validity issues for your 2nd graders test. CPS administered tests — for gifted, classical, academic centers, selective enrollment — do not use laptop computers for their testing so this shouldn’t be an issue.
The academic performance of the various Academic Centers & Selective Enrollment High does differ. Lindblom is a relatively new school — about 3 years old to much older for WY. I would expect the numbers to improve. Additionally one thing to note about the Academic Center vs. High School performance is that in the high school portion of some of these schools other students who are not rigorously selected as they are at the Academic Center (and who are tracked in a different program) — this performance gets mixed in & it mixes the results.
10. Friend of a friend | September 28, 2009 at 5:23 am
Taft is a horrible option. They even go as far to (maliciously or benignly) sabotage your child’s grades and profile so as to undermine matriculation in a competing HS program. And Taft academic center does not guarantee acceptance into Taft HS. The program is widely disliked. Stay away from it.
11. Taft AC parent | October 22, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Friend of a Friend is wrong about Taft. Taft is becoming more & more popular with the NW side families (Edgebrook, Sauganash, Palmer, Decatur). Taft accepts those out of attendance boundary AC kids who have a C or better average and no major disciplinary action into its HS. Face it- it the kid doesn’t have a t least a a C average and is a discipline problem- wha should Taft keep them? In 8th grade, the AC kids have all Freshman classes for HS credit. In my experience, WY does sabotage its 7th graders’ grades to prevent them from transferring to a SE high school. Get your facts straight before you post
12. Adele | April 7, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Whitney Young AC is very well liked for good reasons. Classes are taught by high school certified teachers, a big plus. Look at the teachers highly detailed curriculum outlines for their 7th & 8th grades on their web site. (Ms. Gandhi’s Algebra 1 honors curriculum, in particular.) There’s nothing like that level of planning at my dds’ school.
13. 7thGradeTaftACStudent | April 16, 2010 at 3:10 am
Dear friend of a friend,
you are completely wrong about the Taft Academic Center. I am currently attending TAC, and it is wonderful, and actually the teacher try there very hardest to make sure that you have the best grade possible. Many of the teachers give up their free periods to help students, and do after school tutoring, and spend time in class to help everyone understand. Also, you leave with 6 high school credits, which are Freshman Algebra, French, US History, Survey Lit, Computer Tech, and a science class. I believe that you were very misinformed. This year 14 of our eighth graders got into Northside prep, and the others got into equally good schools such as Lane Tech, Walter Payton, Whitney Young or the Taft IB. Taft Academic Center is a wonderful program to be apart of, and I am extremely delight to be able to participate in this program.