Eric Zorn on the SE High School Process
March 17, 2010 at 11:40 am 30 comments
Not for me, but for my 12-year-old son. He had made a short movie to fulfill a language arts class assignment and the film was due. But he couldn’t find a disc to burn the movie onto the night before, so he went to bed.
I shouldn’t be out here, dodging puddles, crossing busy streets.
I should be in the kitchen, reading the paper, having a cup of coffee and preparing to deliver the classic “Let This Be a Lesson to You …” speech when my son realizes that the DVD fairy didn’t come overnight to save him from the penalty associated with turning in an assignment a day late.
Yet instead I’m playing DVD fairy and preparing the feeble “Don’t Let This Happen Again” speech.
It’s the next morning.
I’m supposed to be working.
Instead I’m engaged in a complex e-mail negotiation involving my son’s teacher and his principal over the way a portion of a recent exam was graded. I’m building the case that he deserved five more points (and one higher letter) than he got.
And even though my appeal is successful, I have enough self-awareness to be dismayed that I’ve become an archetypal pushy, enabling father.
My excuse:
My son and his twin sister are in the seventh grade, “Hell Year” for students in Chicago who are hoping to win a spot at one of the city’s elite public high schools.
Historically, only about one in five applicants get in. They compete more or less on a point system — one third of their application score is based on their seventh-grade classroom grades and another third is based on the results of standardized tests taken in seventh grade. The final third is based on an entrance exam they take in eighth grade. And the average score for admitted students has been creeping up each year.
So could one DVD being turned in one day late or one dropped letter grade on one exam in one subject in March of 2010 cost him a place at one of the top city public high schools in the fall of 2011?
And is it necessary to pay hundreds of dollars to have him and his sister enrolled in a weekly, after-school program run by SelectivePrep, a 5-year-old local company modeled after businesses that prepare high school students for their ACT and SAT college-entrance exams?
Maybe not. But the stakes for being wrong are high. At the city’s top four public prep schools, 90 percent or more of the students test at or above grade level. At our local public high school — the default option — fewer than 20 percent of the students test at or above grade level. These same four elite schools rank in the top five in the state for test scores and regularly launch students to the best colleges and universities.
“The system forces 12-year-olds to deal with pressures that are worse than what 17-year-olds deal with” as they prepare for college, said Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education, a watchdog group. “And because the requirements seem to change every year, they never know when the ground’s going to shift under them.”
The “safety” schools for Chicago elementary pupils are either private or suburban, options that are expensive or disruptive at best, out of reach for their parents at worst.
Chicago has increased the number of selective-enrollment programs in recent years, but not nearly fast enough to meet demand or allay the anxieties of neurotic parents like me.
“The two-tiered system was created to keep advantaged families in the city,” Woestehoff said. “But the bigger it gets, the more harm it does to the neighborhood high schools.”
Long-term, she said, “the solution is to fix all the high schools so that, 15 years from now, anyone would feel comfortable sending their kids there.”
I believe this. Just as I recognize that no one is forcing me and my wife to raise our children in the city and that, unlike many parents, we have the luxury of enduring this drama by choice.
Short-term, though, the solution is soggy shoes, a fresh sleeve of blank DVDs and a guilty conscience.
LINKS:
An annotated version of this column — the director’s commentary, as it were — is posted here.
Chicago Public Schools Office of Academic Enhancement’s web page on Selective Enrollment High Schools
Entry filed under: High school. Tags: eric zorn chicago tribune, selective enrollment high school admission 7th grade.
1. RL Julia | March 17, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Wow. I think the Eric Zorn article, while perhaps truthful and honest is really disappointing. He’s just feed the fire about there being NO high schools in Chicago good enough for HIS kids -except the selects. I’m the first to admit its a sucky, stressful system that brings out the worst in most of us but at the same time – he got his kids into a kindergarten or grade school that met his criteria, don’t you think he’ll be able to figure out a high school plan that works as well – and has been noted on this website – there are more options for high school than just the selects – not as many as most of us would like but its not a complete wasteland out there either.
2. cpsobsessed | March 17, 2010 at 12:29 pm
@ RL Julia – that’s a good point. Although one could say that I feed the fire about gifted/magnet/classical when in truth I’m a huge fan of neighborhood schools. I wouldn’t even be that sorry to see the magnets/gifted/etc go and have everyone revert back to their neighborhood.
I think all parents aspire high, and are still a bit fearful of their child having to attend a gang-infested CPS high school. It does feel a bit like a wasteland at times (to me.)
It’ll be interesting to see where his kids end up and what he has to say about it.
3. dave4118 | March 17, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Just posted on the sunt-times website…the CPS has unveiledc that ‘principals picks’ are back. Under tighter scrutiny, but back. They couldn’t stick to the stated goal of laying these odious picks for even one year. Too much clout with their kids wanting in. I hate to be cynical…but.
4. laughing out loud | March 17, 2010 at 6:02 pm
I literally laughed out loud when I read this portion of the article:
“Applicants must write a personal statement of no more than 1,000 words, include up to three recommendations and provide paper copies or photographs of all trophies if they want to win admission under some categories”
They are considering TROPHIES? ? ? And they need a picture of them too? ? I guess its time to dig out all the old AYSO, TBall, Kid race trophies and medals that my brood has collected over the years. And I guess the essay shouldn’t be about the trophy that was left on your front porch because your kid stopped going to games . . .
5. RL Julia | March 17, 2010 at 9:43 pm
I think that if one was bent on getting into a gang in high school one could do it in ANY CPS high school. Certainly the gang issue is concerning but perhaps I am stereotyping when I say I just don’t see Eric Zorn’s kids as gang material (not that I know them or anything). Let’s face it -its not like his kids are going to end up at Orr or Austin (no offense intended) but rather the select non-selects of Lincoln Park or Von Steuben or (gasp) the IB program at Taft or Noble Street Charter or any of the fifteen million decent schools out there , where if you are prepared, smart and your parents are on top of stuff, you’ll get tracked into decent classes (most likely away from the most disruptive troublesome students) with decent teachers and get a decent education. .
6. James | March 17, 2010 at 10:12 pm
His kids go to a small non-sectarian private elementary school on the northside. Not super expensive, but full of committed teachers, parents, and students. His older son graduated from there and then went onto Payton.
7. Mayfair Dad | March 18, 2010 at 9:28 am
RLJulia:
I have read somewhere that when you remove the results of the select enrollment high schools from the mix, approximately 50% of all CPS high school students fail to graduate. So it is not a misconception that neighborhood high schools are substandard, it is reality. Certainly schools like Lincoln Park (IB & AP), Von Stueben (Scholars), Taft (IB & AP) are doing what they can to improve the level of instruction for students who miss the cut at SE high schools, but don’t blame the parents for wanting the best for their kids. Only 15% of applicants get accepted at SE high schools – that is a lot of disappointed parents each year. P.S. I am the parent of a 7th grader and I completely relate with Eric Zorn. If your kid gets one “B” in 7th grade, kiss Northside, Payton, Jones and Young good-bye.
8. cpsobsessed | March 18, 2010 at 9:36 am
@RL Julia – OK, I read the article more closely this morning and I think I would have to agree with you. He IS basically saying it’s SE or nothing.
I guess if he were some random shlub like me with a blog, it would be one thing, but it does stink that he has wide Chicago readership and puts the idea out there that the high schools should be totally off a parent’s radar COMPLETELY if its not SE.
I’m not saying any of us are all gung-ho on the high schools and maybe we’d feel differently if we had older kids (and didn’t have a 5+ year buffer of hopefulness.) But, the best thing that can happen to the CPS high schools is if a large group of parents do the infamous “let’s hold hands and do it together.” Eric Zorn could help encourage that mentallity by not just dismissing those schools so completely.
His implication that the top high schools are so fantastic is also flawed. Of COURSE they send so many kids to college. They’ve pre-tested them to succeed!
Really, I’ve been stewing about the fact that 7th/8th graders have to put up with this stuff instead of just knowing where they’ll go to high school. Isn’t there enough to worry about as a 7th grader?
9. cpsgawker | March 18, 2010 at 9:51 am
Why don’t you email Zorn and repeat what you’ve said here about how his article disses the other high schools? Go to the tribune website and you’ll find his email address under columnists.
10. RL Julia | March 18, 2010 at 11:41 am
cps gawker – Good idea! Thanks.
I have a kid in 6th grade – since his school ends in 6th grade (and its not Decatur either), we’ve already gone down this road for 7th grade and are preparing for another year of it next year (double since my daughter will be in 5th grade). You know what- we kept it in perspective, joked about the insane-ness of it all and it really wasn’t so terrible. No one forged homework, grade grubbed or made midnight runs for disks or whatnot. The trick is not to give into the pressure and hype and cut yourself off at the knees by deciding their are only a few choices to be had.
I went to a terrible high school (as in a teacher had been shot to death (although not by a student), someone blew up a part of the school with a bomb, locked campus, security guards, the whole bit) and guess what, I didn’t join a gang, have a kid whle I was in high school and I went to college.
11. Jan | March 18, 2010 at 12:36 pm
God, I had no idea Eric was so neurotic until I read that director’s cut version. ..
I so much wish that he didn’t feed into the thinking that there are only four “acceptable” schools, and it’s either those four schools; otherwise, it’s private or suburbs. There are improvements and new options every year. What harm would it do talk up the progress and the lesser-known schools and programs, like those mentioned above by RL Julia? I guess that A/ good news is not newsworthy, and B/ if wouldn’t be a cathartic piece of writing to help him alleviate his neuroses.
12. cpsobsessed | March 18, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Yes Jan, which is pretty much how this whole blog has turned out!
Cathartic writing to alleviate my neuroses.
And I’m sure I drive people crazy by not supporting the neighborhood schools on here more.
I keep meaning to write a nice piece about why it’s great to get involved at your neighborhood school, yet it lacks the comedic and discussion/debate-value that all this crazy magnet/gifted/SE stuff has.
13. RL Julia | March 18, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Message from Eric:
I e-mailed him and here is the response. Points for being level-headed on his mail – and prompt to boot.
Here’s his response:
Cool. You should paste this link into the comment thread, which is still pretty active on my site. I didn’t mean to diss the honors programs, IB programs etc. at a few schools …. there aren’t many … and the drop off to, say, my neighborhood high school, is HUGE. It’s not like, say, you didn’t get into U of I so you’ve gotta go to Northern Illinois.
Thanks. EZ
What I wrote to him:
We’ve been discussing your piece on 7th grade. While I really usually enjoy what I’ve read of your stuff, I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this piece – however truthful it is.
If you are interested in checking out the discussion (or even contributing to it) here’s the link
14. 8th grade parent | March 18, 2010 at 6:35 pm
MAYFAIR DAD: We just went through this process and my 8th grader got into his first choice SE school. We seriously considered LPHSIB and I am convinced it is the hardest program in the city. You simply cannot lump it together in that list Mayfair Dad. We even had an indepth interview with the IB coordinator. I wish my son had been a better fit there but he did not want to go there. We both really disliked Von and didn’t even bother applying.
CPSOBSESSED: Very little credibility on teh neighborhood school when you obsess about the gifteds and magnets.
15. Mayfair Dad | March 18, 2010 at 9:44 pm
It would be very instructive for all concerned if Mr. Zorn published follow-up articles about his dealings with the CPS high school admissions process. Maybe he will have an epiphany and decide a non-selective high school is the right choice for his kid.
Whatever he decides, shining a light on the absurdity of the process – again – would be helpful (and an interesting read.) As CPSo mentioned, he has a large readership.
16. cpsobsessed | March 18, 2010 at 10:38 pm
@RL Julia: Cool! That was great that he responded so quickly. Maybe I’ll go check out that thread so I can continue the discussion there.
@8th grade parent: True, but I will leave it to someone else to start neighborhoodschoolobsessed.com. I find more to obsess about in the game that CPS creates for us. I like to dissect and discuss absurdity. That’s where much of it lies in CPS.
17. cpsobsessed | March 18, 2010 at 11:04 pm
OMG, I have to hand it to Eric Zorn. People write these loooong responses to the column and it appears that he read them all and even answers many of them! And avoids snarkiness when it is well-deserved!
18. skohng | March 19, 2010 at 1:03 am
this is a tangent, but when did Lincoln Park IB become a non-competitor with the other SE schools listed?
19. James | March 19, 2010 at 9:22 am
To 8th Grade Parent: Interesting comment about Lincoln Park IB. I’m also the parent of an 8th grader who just went through this process. My daughter was lucky enough to get her first choice SE school (Payton), so she is going to go there. (By the way, I’m curious about where your kid is going to go.)
But I had a somewhat different reaction to LP IB than you. Yes, I appreciated the admissions interview and the program itself looked challenging and was stocked with committed teachers. But I didn’t like it being housed within the much, much larger (and, frankly, much rougher) Lincoln Park HS. And I was a little bothered by the fact that they let lots of kids into the program (it isn’t nearly as selective, admissions-wise, as the SEs) while knowing that many will wash out because they can’t hack it. There are something like 15 kids that left the program this year after one semester and there will reportedly be even more that don’t return next year. That said, it isn’t a bad program and, for us, would probably have been an acceptable backup if one of our top SEs hadn’t worked out.
Given that I have an 8th grader, I find this whole discussion fascinating. My take is that, while I wish there were better neighborhood schools in the city, the reality is that there just aren’t, at least where I live. I want my kids to have a great HS education, not merely an OK one and definitely not a risky or bad one. Fortunately, there are a handful of CPS program that provide a great HS education — but the fact is there are only that: a handful. This necessarily ramps up the pressure for 7th grade, as Eric Zorn so accurately put it in his column.
20. 8th grade parent | March 19, 2010 at 10:24 am
James,
The concerns you expressed were those we considered about LPHS IB but bottom line, my son looked around and did not see many athletic boys at curriculum night. For him, finding a good fit was essential. I don’t know about the drop out rate for the current freshman class but I do know they had none or minimal drop outs in the current sophmore class.
I much preferred the qualitative/quantiative approach to selection at Lincoln Park IB to that of the SE but realize that the numbers were much smallerand that was a possibiity. What you characterize as less selectivity could simply be a realization that a very smart kid got a B in an honors class–which might prevent that child from getting into Payton or Northside but is actually a better student or has a more interesting life or attitude.
Seventh grade was a horror. I think boys are harder to motivate at that age than girls and everything that could happened happened but in the end his score was high enough to get into all the SE schools even Payton–he was one point above the cut off for Tier 4.
21. selena | March 19, 2010 at 12:35 pm
I went to Lincoln Park IB for high school and am sad to see that it’s not what it used to be. I knew a lot of students in the non-IB program who went on to U of I just fine. Of course that was years ago.
22. Jan | March 19, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Selena and everyone — the LP IB program is absolutely tops with regard to the academic achievements of the kids who come in, what they learn, and how much they achieve after graduation, in line with or topping those at Payton, Northside and Whitney Young, according to this recent study by Chicago Consortium of School Research:
http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/publications.php?pub_id=133
My read on this is that the LP IB program admits a much higher rate than the SE HS, because the interview process and presentation to prospective students and parents makes it clear how very rigorous the program is, so many people turn down the offer even if they are given it.
23. RL Julia | March 19, 2010 at 4:58 pm
I always thought that LPIB offers more slots to more kids because they were looking at the same kids as the SE’s and figured they’d lose kids to them.
LPIB is its own program but judging from the comments on this website alone, it seems to be considered separate but certainly not equal to the SE’s because it isn’t ONLY IB, there are other non-IB (read dangerous) kids in the school and since they let in kids that might not fit the (admittedly insane) SE mold for whatever reason that is threatening or makes the school (to quote a parent) “merely an o.k. one” – not great.
As an observation, it seems like there is a whole lot of hating going on. Everyone hates the SE school criteria and complains bitterly about how it is patently unfair and doesn’t recognize other types of intelligence and life experiences, etc… but then go on to diss every other high school program that doesn’t conform to the admittedly insane and limited standards set by the SE selection process. You can’t have it both ways!
24. 8th grade parent | March 19, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Well Julia, that is going to change in the four SE chosen to take students from the lowest performing grammar schools. . .
25. James | March 19, 2010 at 7:58 pm
RL Julia — I have to respond to you because your comment was plainly directed to me. You simply misunderstood what I wrote. My reference to high schools that were “merely OK” came in the paragraph in which I was discussing *neighborhood* schools, not Lincoln Park IB. Lincoln Park is not (or is not primarily) a neighborhood school. And it simply is a fact that even the best neighborhood schools (which, again, does not include LP IB) are merely OK when compared to the SE schools and special programs like, well, Lincoln Park IB.
Also, nothing I wrote could possibly be fairly characterized as “diss[ing] every other high school program that doesn’t conform to the admittedly insane and limited standards set by the SE selection process.” In fact, I didn’t “diss” anything. What I responded to was another parent’s observations about LP IB. It is, as I said, a rigorous and well-designed program. It also happens to be one that lets in kids it knows aren’t going to make it (which I don’t think is a good idea) and one that is housed in a large urban HS that has more than a few troublemaking kids and some serious drug and safety issues (which I also don’t think is good). I know several kids in the IB program there. They generally like it. And I respect the program. But it has some real problems — and those eliminated it as a choice for my child. That isn’t “dissing” it and it sure isn’t calling it merely OK.
26. selena | March 19, 2010 at 8:36 pm
@jan and @RLJulia, thanks for the background info on the state of LPIB.
I remember it being a stressful program while going through it, but I am so incredibly grateful for the experience. I remember my German teacher inviting a U of C philosophy professor to teach us Kantian and Hegelian principles. My classmates went on to Harvard, Stanford, Yale, McGill, Haverford; Michigan-bound, I was one of the “just average” kids.
I’m also othered by the assumption that non-IB students there are big, bad, and dangerous (not by parents here, just what I’ve observed in general). Yes, there were students from the area (i.e. Cabrini Green) and fights after school, rival gang members, etc. but I never felt like helpless prey. I played varsity sports and had healthy interaction with “non-IBers” and they were often more pleasant to be around than my fellow “IBers”. I mean, that is how the real world works, right? You have to go through life working with people who are not as smart and beautiful and rich as you?
27. RL Julia | March 22, 2010 at 12:23 pm
James – I was merely quoting you in the second paragraph. The comment about everyone’s general conflict with not really liking any of the options was directed non-specifically.
Selena – I appreciate hearing from a former LPIB student about your experiences. Thanks for sharing.
8th grade parent – I don’t think that every kid from a low performing grammar school is prone towards violence and gang membership. They might have been exposed to it more – but that doesn’t make them part of it.
28. EM | March 22, 2010 at 2:19 pm
My son just went through the high school process, and he was admitted both the Lincoln Park IB and to an Selective Admission High School. I am 100% positive that LPHS uses does a better job of identifying the best of the best than does the Selective Admission process. Here are my thoughts:
1. LPHS/IB gives the kids an above-grade-level test. It is intended for high school juniors. The Selective Enrollment test is very easy and is pitched at PERHAPS a 6th grade level. Doing well on the LPHS/IB test requires a detailed knowlege of algebra and good writing skills (because an essay is required). Doing well on the SE requires students to be careful and get 100% accurate.
2. The SE rubric is weighed very heavily on grades. One B will cut a kid out of many of the SE schools. A kid seeking admission to a SE high school can score faily low on standardized tests he he/she gets straight As. LHPS/IB, however, does not take a kid out of the running if they get a B at a very challenging school. Especially if they do well on LHPS’s (very difficult) entrance test.
3. The SE schools are forced to admit students by tiers, and now also to admit kids from low performing grade schools. In the case of Jones and Payton, these students will make up a huge portion the incoming classes.
4. LPHS/IB meets with the kids ahead of time to make sure that the kids understand the rigor of the program and are willing to commit to it.
My overall assessment is that the SE process is not really a merit-based process. It is skewed in very large part to meet particular societal goals. LPHS, however, has one goal: to find the smartest kids. And they do a good job with this. The previous poster is right, LPHS IB kids have the best success with college admissions.
That said, my son will not be going to LPHS next year. His dad and I decided that it would be too intense for him.
29. 8th grade parent to julia | March 23, 2010 at 11:50 pm
You wrote:
“since they let in kids that might not fit the (admittedly insane) SE “mold for ”
I responded:
“Well Julia, that is going to change in the four SE chosen to take students from the lowest performing grammar schools. . ”
You replied:.
“8th grade parent – I don’t think that every kid from a low performing grammar school is prone towards violence and gang membership. They might have been exposed to it more – but that doesn’t make them part of it.”
I don’t get your leap of logic or mischaracterization. Certainly the 25 kids from the lower performing schools do not fit the SE mold.
30. RL Julia | March 25, 2010 at 9:15 am
8th grade parent –
I see where my logic is not easy to follow (not logical?). What I mean is that just because the school is low performing does not necessarily mean that every kid in the school is low performing – it means that MOST of the kids in the school are low performing.
I would assume (but since we are dealing with CPS, it is a riskier proposition than usual) that the process of identifying kids from low performing schools to go to the SE’s would seek to find those few high performing kids who attend low performing schools.