Chicago Public Schools sets new dates for High School Admissions Test after technical glitches forced cancellation
After technical glitches forced the cancellation of Chicago Public Schools’ High School Admissions Test last week, the district’s 26,000 eighth graders will finally be able to put the competitive assessment of their reading and math skills behind them starting next week.
In a letter sent to families Wednesday, CPS announced that eighth graders, regardless of whether they were able to complete the initial test last week, will have the option to retake the exam during the school day on Tuesday or Wednesday in English. Students taking the test in Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Urdu or simplified Chinese will retake the exam during the school day Nov. 1.
Students take the HSAT to apply to the city’s 14 selective enrollment high schools and to enroll at schools outside their neighborhood boundaries with special “choice” programs — such as STEM programs, fine and performing arts, and dual-language offerings — that their neighborhood schools may not have. In the competitive process to win a coveted selective enrollment seat, students can rank up to six selective enrollment schools and 20 choice schools.
Families have long criticized the high-stakes assessment of students’ reading and math skills, for subjecting adolescents to stress akin to the college admissions process.
“We recognize that students spend time preparing for this test and it was stressful when the test had to be paused amid the technical issues and we sincerely apologize for the disruption in this test administration,” the district wrote in an emailed statement Wednesday. “Over the past week, we’ve worked closely with the testing vendor, Riverside Assessments, LLC, to review the problems and resolve them. Our vendor has assured us that testing can continue.”
Riverside has since added server capacity, which the CPS Information and Technology Team said was successful in resolving the issues in the testing platform, according to CPS’ High School Admissions Test site.
Next week’s exam will feature all new questions and CPS said it “strongly” recommends students take advantage of the opportunity to retest. But, any student who’d like for their initial score to be submitted with their high school application has the option to opt out of retesting. Students who were able to complete the HSAT on the initial testing date will not be able to submit their best scores among two attempts, but must choose whether to replace their initial scores.
The district said it has also reached out to the families of non-CPS students to register for new weekend testing dates by Monday. After the technical issues emerged last week, CPS had postponed the assessments of non-district students. Those tests which will now be held at Lane Tech College Prep High School and Lindblom Math and Science Academy at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Oct. 28 and 29, and at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. Nov. 5.
“We appreciate your continued patience, and regret any stress or frustration that these testing challenges have caused for your family,” the district wrote in the letter to families.
A spokesperson said Wednesday that despite the delays, CPS doesn’t expect families will need more time to submit their applications to selective enrollment and specialized high school programs. The Nov. 9 application deadline hasn’t been extended. But CPS is providing students with more time to rank their preferences, giving them until Dec. 1. In the meantime, the district said it will provide testing results in a “timely” manner.
