Gifted/Classical Test Info
According to CPSMagnet.org, here’s the notification schedule of when CPS will mail letters for magnet and selective enrollment schools:
Elementary March 14-16
High School February 18-21
In the past, the gifted/classical letters have mailed on time. I think I recall the magnets going out in a timely way. Neighborhood schools have been horrendously late as it takes time for CPS to work through all the schools’ lotteries. Two year ago, there was a group of people whose gifted/classical test scores were lost in the mail (me, included!) Took 2 weeks to convince GEAP to re-send them. If yours is late, you can go to the GEAP office to pick it up.
It is also unclear whether for the gifted/classical schools they will send the test scores and the school notifications at the same time. That seems to vary year by year.
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This page is still under construction, but I’m going to pull together some of my old posts that might help parents who are getting ready to test their kids this year. I’ll write more soon, but if you’re looking for info on the test, this should get you started. Please post in the comment section after your child has tested if you like. I always love hearing the stories from parents afterwards…..
CPS Office of Academic Enhancement (I DARE you to find this link from the main CPS website (CPS.edu.)
http://cpsmagnet.org
The home page has a description of how the new selection criteria will for for the 2010/2011 school year (the removal of race as a selection factor.)
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/12/12/some-resources-for-giftedclassical-test-prep/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/12/11/what-to-look-for-in-a-gifted-or-classical-program/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/11/21/those-new-yorkers-will-pay-for-anything/ (There is a link to some sample questions here.)
http://cpsobsessed.com/2008/10/30/new-clues-about-the-gifted-test-content-and-can-i-prep-my-kid/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/03/25/answers-to-some-commentsquestions/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/03/18/some-updates-from-geap/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2008/07/24/our-giftedclassical-testing-experience/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/01/10/our-gifted-testing-experience-part-2/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/03/27/the-testing-gods-have-spoken/
http://cpsobsessed.com/2009/03/04/giftedclassical-notifications-coming-soon-to-a-mailbox-near-you/
1. Adele | March 1, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Would any readers be interested in visiting Keller Regional Gifted Center? It’s a lovely school.
Everyone’s invited to our annual Breakfast with the Easter Bunny on Saturday March 13 from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. Pancakes, sausages, milk, OJ and coffee. Adults are $6, Children $5 and children under 3 are free.
Our address is 3020 W. 108th St., Chicago, 60655. We are in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood and next to Beverly, which has some architecturally interesting homes by Wright and others and it is very worthwhile to take a drive down Longwood Drive.
Thanks
2. cyan | March 12, 2010 at 3:13 pm
we should go to school we are 90 years old
3. sara | March 29, 2010 at 12:02 pm
does anyone know anything about Coonley’s Gifted program?
Also, any idea how they decide what Gifted or classical school your child gets into?
4. D | March 30, 2010 at 6:38 pm
We just received our score for entrance into Kindergarten. My daughter scored 134. She was not accepted to Coonley.
Anybody know what the cutoff is or have a child who was accepted at coonley? I’m trying to determine if she has any chance at spot later.
5. sara | March 30, 2010 at 9:52 pm
our daughter was accepted to Coonley and scored a 148. We had her tested as a fluke and b/c it was free and merely widened the net for us in terms of possibilities. The more I read this blog the more insane I think this whole situation is.
6. Tim | March 31, 2010 at 9:26 am
@D: Our daughter was not accepted at Coonley. 142, Tier 4.
My hunch re your chances is that your socioeconomic ‘tier’ will have a lot to do with it. We have a friend whose kid got into Edison with 141, lower tier.
7. helicoptermom | April 2, 2010 at 7:52 am
Anyone know about the Gifted International Baccalaurate program at Lincoln or Ogden? They are for 6th-8th grade and are houses in neighborhood schools. How do they compare with regional gifted programs?
8. Charice Harper | October 14, 2010 at 1:54 pm
When can I prepare my daughter to take a placement test to see if she qualifies for entry into Kellers 3rd grade class, school year 2011-2012?
9. Testing | November 18, 2010 at 12:06 pm
@CPS Obsessed (and anyone else who might have some thoughts on this):
You’re obviously way in-the-know about these things. I was curious what you think about the accuracy of the tests? I recently took DS for testing and my M-I-L came with me, who is a retired special ed teacher and managed testing for specialed students out-of-state. She was disappointed that tests were being done by grad students rather than a teacher or psychologist and that the test only took 20 minutes. She felt that that was not enough time to truly evaluate a child and determine whether he or she is “gifted”. In your Humble Opinion, do you feel that the “right” students get into the Gifted/Classical Schools, or is there room for interpretation here?
If this thread has already been discussed on your blog, you can just point me in the right direction. But I couldn’t find it. Thanks. Just curious as to what you think.
10. cpsobsessed | November 18, 2010 at 12:20 pm
@Testing: I would agree with your MIL and I’m sure CPS would as well. I believe the test is considered to be an abbreviated version of a full-scale test. There just isn’t any way the district could afford to test all the kids with a full version administered by teachers/psychologists. there are something like 6,000-8,000 kids who test each year.
I think the sense is that the test can produce “false negatives” meaning plenty of very smart kids don’t test into a program, but few “false positives” (kids test into the gifted programs who clearly shouldn’t be there.)
I think the group testing that is used in pre-1st grade an up is even more imprecise, given that kids are at the mercy of their group. But it’s probably close to the best we can do on an extremely limited budget.
11. Tim | December 6, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I understand the decision on who gets admitted does not come out til the spring, but when can you find out how well you child did on the test itself? Do they even give out the results of the test? Thanks
12. Testing | December 6, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Tim – I could be wrong, but I believe you get your child’s score and the acceptance letter at the same time. Meaning, one letter comes out and that has all the info on it.
13. Jennifer | January 8, 2011 at 10:50 pm
My daughter tested as a current 1st grader this week and they were in there around 90 minutes, as were the group before. Not sure if they’ve changed the test as it’s our first time.
14. twocents | February 6, 2011 at 2:38 pm
When DD took the classical test ~ one month ago, a boy two seats down from her vomited all over his scantron form. The testing personnell were kind enough to give him a new one. Just a minor distraction, eh?!?!?
15. a | March 21, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Our daugher tested with a score of 142 for the Regional Gifted Centers…which should puter her on the high side of the 99th percentile. But the best we were offered was 37th on the wait list for Skinner. Any chance for her?
16. Jason | March 21, 2011 at 9:28 pm
My daughter has been accepted to Skinner North. Any one have any feedback on this school? Good or bad. Not sure if this would be a good idea but we were really hoping for Edison because its closer to our home and my office, easy commute. Any opinions on declining the Skinner North offer and hoping one of the other gifted schools like Edison might come a-calling?
17. abcde | March 21, 2011 at 9:48 pm
@Jason: Our son attended Skinner North for a year before switching to Keller RGC. We liked the school but the homework load was intense. Very ambitious teachers and principal!
On a different note: Does anybody know the current cutoff score for Keller for 1st grade?
18. KLS | March 22, 2011 at 9:07 am
Any thoughts on the RGC program at Pritzker? What are the benefits/drawbacks between the RGC program and a magnet school like Stone? Thanks in advance.
19. cpsobsessed | March 22, 2011 at 9:33 am
@18 KLS. I would tour Pritzker. I have heard good things about the program, but they don’t always seem to enroll a full class for some reason. Probably a call you have to make on your own based on your impressions, location, hours, etc. (Or course small class = good for your kid!)
The benefit of a RGC is that they work 1-2 year ahead in curriclulum. The magnet schools still have to work at the grade level curric. Some teachers might be good at giving advanced work to kids who need it, but there’s no guarantee.
20. SCG | March 22, 2011 at 4:54 pm
My son scored 141 on the RGC test and was not offered a spot, an earlier post stated their waitlist #. We don’t have a waitlist #. How do you find out where you are on the list?
21. cpsobsessed | March 22, 2011 at 5:04 pm
@20 SCG: You won’t get a waitlist for RGC or classical. Just for magnet/neighborhood.
You ARE on a ranked list but CPS won’t give you that information. They may tell you if your child is really close to the top so you can assess your options (or tell if there is no real chance.)
Good luck!
22. adam | March 22, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Our kid got a score of 142 for the RGC…but we didn’t get any information about the RGC schools. We did get a list of the wait list for classicals so we have a chance at Chopin and Skinner…but we didn’t hear anything from Edison.
When do we hear from RGCs? Do we hear from them?
23. John | March 29, 2011 at 5:53 am
My first time on this site and I am bittersweet about it: it’s an awesome treasure trove of information but we only accessed this after the testing process
I really think a site like this helps make sense of the Kafka esque nightmare that is cps!
That being said, we screwed up as naive clueless parents… We didn’t vet the process enough ranked two schools (hubris) and didn’t get in. Our kid got a 146 but will end up languishing in a regular kindergarten–any chance of redemption for neglectful parents? 1) can we get information on where on rank list we are (Edison and Decatur); 2) any suggestions at this stage for alternatives (privates etc)?
Sigh… This reminds me of a documentary I recently saw about manhattanite parents going nutso about preK admissions–at the time i scoffed at the mania but apparently this clueless parent wasn’t manic enough…
Thank you.
24. wandrerr | March 29, 2011 at 5:59 am
@23 – John – with a 146 your child does have a chance of being called in one of the later rounds – depending on your tier.
I’m not sure where you live, but if you’re on the northside of the city, I would check out CICS Irvinig Park. They do their lottery later – I think apps are due by 4/7? The shcool does not have a ton of resources, but I was very impressed with their differetiated learning system which a gifted child would thrive in.
Here is the link for application for admissions.
http://www.chicagointl.org/
Here is the link to the Irving Park campus.
http://cicsirvingpark.org/
Also, some neighborhood schools are great. Again, I’m not sure which one if yours, but you might want to check it out.
25. cpsobsessed | March 29, 2011 at 10:10 am
Ha, I love it – “kafkaesque nightmare.”
I don’t think you did anything wrong. Usually there are only 2 schools near you… if you’d selected more you might be wondering now whether it was worth hauling across town.
Your child scord very well and may have a good chance of getting into a program at the 1st grade level next year.
You can try contacting the OAE (see cpsmagnet.org for the number.) It just depends who you talk to and what mood they’re in if they’ll give you that info. I suspect calling in the summer or later in the school year when they’re less busy might give you a better chance. Alternatives are probably some growing schools like Pierce or Prescott (or whatever might be near you) that you may be able to get into over the summer. Or even your neighborhood school. Privates are probably impossible at this point.
I saw that show – something like Preschool University. NYC is like our system on steroids.
Good luck!
26. John | March 29, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Well I took your advice… contacted OAE and they were very very nice… in fact, I was surprised to hear a polite voice and there was even a return call… I had the out-of-body experience of hearing and seeing myself devolve into a parody of an obsessed parent asking inane questions… lol.
Thankfully the adminstrator provided helpful info and I think we will wait for second round runs…
Wandrerr… that is thoughtful advice will check out the link. Thank you.
And Ms Cpsobsessed, seriously great info and I could wander for days through the links and pore over the info provided
27. cpsobsessed | March 29, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Thanks for the update. Good luck and report back!
28. John | April 25, 2011 at 11:35 pm
Ok… as wanderrer predicted, little ironman was accepted in a later round… off to terrorize Decatur… for the statistical posterity: 146, 99.9 reading, 96 math bad (as in not-so-favorable) tier, bad gender, bad ethnicity
29. wandrerr | April 26, 2011 at 5:48 am
Congrats!
30. ss | May 24, 2011 at 9:59 am
I am looking for feedback on South Loop RGC and also the neighborhood program. One of my twins was acceted at RGC yesterday and I am trying to weigh in on whether it’ll be good for my other twin to join the neighborhood program. Both have admissions at their neighborhood school – Pulaski in Wicker Park. Does anyone know whether my kids will be able to benefit from the magent program at South Loop at all. Thanks.
31. A Day at the Chicago Public Schools Gifted Testing Session « Chicago Dads | December 11, 2011 at 12:39 am
[...] CPS school has parents so anxious they hire consultants to help them. After snooping around various blogs about CPS gifted testing, I realized that almost no one knows what’s on this test. I was intrigued. So we applied for [...]
32. Matt Kelley | December 11, 2011 at 1:57 am
I did a bit of research and I think there is a way to find out, or at least guess. Check New York, they are the #1 district, we often copt them, then look at statements by OAE and the puzzle seems to fit.
Check http://www.cpsmagnet.com for other tips.
Matt Kelley
33. Matt Kelley | December 15, 2011 at 9:25 am
Found out even more info on the test. It is in fact the OLSAT. Can’t say everything as some sources are “privileged” but check http://www.cpsmagnet.com/#!news for as much proof as I can offer at this point. Whether you go to this site or not. Study for the OLSAT… please.. The materials for doing so are on a link on the CPSobsessed.com site. Otherwise you pay a bundle to get them from Aristotle Circle… trust me I did and am out 300+ for a flimsy guide and samples, all of which are not as great as the one linked on CPS obsessed.. Thanks and Good Luck!!!
Matt Kelley
http://www.chicagotutor.net
34. curious | December 19, 2011 at 11:07 am
@33 How can the gifted test be the OLSAT alone when that test tops out at a score of 150 and children receive scores higher than that?
35. Matt | December 19, 2011 at 11:53 am
They double the score to throw people off. One of their documents shows the titled OLSAT score.
36. curious | December 19, 2011 at 12:56 pm
“They double the score to throw people off. One of their documents shows the titled OLSAT score.”
Not clear as to what you are referring. Children in the past have received scores in the 150′s and 160′s to get into the most competitive RGC’s – not really possible on the OLSAT.
37. Matt | December 19, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Cps takes the raw OLSAT and doubles it. I.e 85 OLSAT equals 170 cps
38. EDB | December 19, 2011 at 4:40 pm
This just doesn’t sound right. The very highest scores I’ve heard of are in the 150s-160s. I have to believe this is near the top of the possible scores.
39. cpsobsessed | December 19, 2011 at 4:47 pm
What is the highest OLSAT score?
40. cpsobsessed | December 19, 2011 at 4:54 pm
http://learningandlifeskills.typepad.com/weblog/2009/11/what-do-the-ols.html
These make it seem like the OLSAT scores correspond with the CPS gifted test scores…
41. curious | December 19, 2011 at 5:00 pm
The OLSAT tops out at 150. Plus a raw score on an OLSAT is the number of questions correct out of the total asked. Depending on the circumstances, some 4 yr olds answer more questions than others (as seen with the time differences) so that couldn’t be how it works. Also, some kids receive odd numbered scores, not possible if you are multiplying 2!
There must be additional factors in addition to the OLSAT.
42. Matt | December 19, 2011 at 8:26 pm
I only make recommendations based on heavily researched facts. Good luck with everything. Thanks, Matt
43. old fogey | December 19, 2011 at 8:32 pm
SelectivePrep has an interesting analysis of the Academic Center Exam. While being in the 99th percentile automatically gives a student 300 points on the Selective Enrollment Exam (the exam 8th graders take), the 99th percentile on the Academic Center Exam gives a student far less. That’s because the Academic Center Exam draws a distinction between someone who is in the 99.9th percentile and someone who is in the 99,0th percentile. The Selective Enrollment Exam makes no such distinction.
It’s likely that a 150 is basically the same as the 99th percentile. A few students taking the gifted exams do indeed get higher than 150; probably like the situation described above—they are higher than the 99.0 percentile.
44. Pete | December 20, 2011 at 4:19 pm
My daughter tested today and was only in for about 18 minutes, rumors are that the longer the child is in the room the better the score, any input…
45. Pete | December 20, 2011 at 4:24 pm
I did prep using the OLSAT questions and she stated that it was the material we did at home, “this is coming from a 4 year old child”. Has anyone have a child test in less than 20 minutes and get accepted into a RGC or classical school?
46. Mom | December 20, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Pete, how old is your child? 4 years and how many months? For a very young 4 year old that length of time might be okay. For a 4 year old almost ready to turn 5, not so good.
47. Pete | December 20, 2011 at 5:24 pm
My daughter is 4 years old, she will turn 5 years in July. She is the youngest pre-k student in her class.
48. Concernedpapa | December 21, 2011 at 7:47 am
Pete, my daughter is 4 years old and 5 months, I do recall the tester saying “see you shortly”, I thought shortly…well she only tested for about 18-20 minutes. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Concerned dad any input????
49. Mom | December 21, 2011 at 10:18 am
Pete, I think she has a very good chance, 18-20 minutes seems like a pretty long time for that young of a child!
50. KD | January 19, 2012 at 10:16 pm
cpsobsessed, when the letters come out, do you plan to have separate posts by school or by area?
51. matt | January 20, 2012 at 4:04 am
just put a ton of CPS Gifted test style sample test questions at http://www.cpsmagnet.com with video explanations. Free, so check out if you can. Matt
52. Jessica Green | January 21, 2012 at 10:41 pm
We’ve had unexpected changes and will be moving into Chicago this summer. All of the deadlines are over for the 2012 school year. Is there any hope we could still get our son tested into the regional gifted center for the coming school year?
53. cpsobsessed | January 21, 2012 at 11:01 pm
If you missed the deadline to sign up for the test (deadline was in december) unfortunately there’s no way to test/apply for a gifted program for the 2012-2013 school year.
Your best bet is to live in an area with a good neighborhood school. Also, I think many of the charters are still taking applications.
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54. KeepHopeAlive | January 23, 2012 at 10:31 pm
When do the HS selective enrollment letters come out for 2012?
55. momof3boys | January 25, 2012 at 4:28 pm
around the 3rd week of feb, i think.
56. curious mom | January 30, 2012 at 11:30 pm
OK, I am totally new to this. I have a child in 4th grade who transferred from a private school to CPS last year. Her counselor suggested that I have her test due to her high ISAT scores last year. I received the letter and her testing date is Wed. The letter states that she is eligible to test for Regional Gifted and Classical Schools. Are these two diffrent tests? It also states the test time is 2 1/2 hours. Is that the max time? Could she finish early? What are the odds of getting in a school as a 5th grader?
57. WRP Mom | January 31, 2012 at 12:45 am
@56, Yes there are 2 different tests. The gifted test is supposed to measure ability and the classical test measures knowledge. They are timed tests in a group setting. If a child finishes early, they would sit quietly until time is called. As for the chances of an opening in 5th grade, you never know. There are usually a few slots every year at my daughter’s classical school. But I doubt any offer would come until late in the school year because the schools usually don’t know who is leaving until then.
If you don’t get an offer, I would definitely try again next year and look at the IG (International Gifted) programs at Lincoln and Ogden. This is a middle school program that begins with 6th grade, so there are the more openings then.
58. jen | February 10, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Relocating to Chi May or June with kids – oldest will be in first grade next year. Does anyone if there’s a way for out of town families to apply from out of town and take the gifted test after the Dec 2011 deadline and apply for g and t for 2012/2013 school year? Thanks for your help!
59. cpsobsessed | February 10, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Unfortunately they are strict about the test cutoff. Probably can’t hurt to call the office of academic enhancement (cpsmagnet.org) and see what they say, just in case.
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