Hard to Figure Out!

Most likely the process that determines if your son/daughter qualifies for admission to a CPS selective school will result in confusion. To decipher the meaning and numbers used is probably a bit maddening to some folks. Let me give you a taste of the confusion that lies ahead.

First of all, 20% of selective school students are chosen based purely on standardized test scores. Okay, no problem there. The remaining 80% of admitted students are chosen based upon a combination of test scores and other criteria. This is where it can get messy.

That criteria is a formula which divides Chicago into four geographic areas called tiers. There are four tiers and the tiers are altered each year. The tiers are reclaculated every year based upon five socioeconomic measures which include such items as median household income, the number of English speakers in the house, median income in the tier and more.

You have to be kidding?! Are citizens suppose to really be able to keep up with possible changing tiers? By the way a Tier 4 selective school is more difficult to get into than a Tier 1. And who knows if a potential student's family has their five factors properly screened. For that matter, does the city really keep up with the changing socioeconomic conditions in the entire tier zone?

These are but a few of the conditions that may preclude top students and poor performing students from attending a selective school. As I said, it is difficult to figure out.

Dick