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SelectivePrep Selective Enrollment High School Profile

Selective Enrollment High Schools offer an accelerated program to meet the needs of Chicago's most academically advanced students. Attendance is free and enrollment is open to public and private Chicago students.

These schools are (in alphabetical order):

Competitive Intensity

In the 2010-2011 school year, over 16,500 8th grade students applied for 2,800 Selective Enrollment spaces. Therefore, only 17% of applicants were accepted on average and less than 10% were accepted by the more popular schools. Average score of an admitted student (on a 900 point scale) ranged from 725 at Lindblom to 888 at Payton, as shown below. In 2010-2011, a 900 point scale was used. This past year, the average score of an admitted student ranged from 725 at Lindblom to 888 at Payton, as shown below.

With the new admissions policy, there were some notable changes in admissions scores. Payton edged out ultra competitive Northside Prep and is now the most competitive Selective Enrollment High School. In addition, Jones also became significantly more competitive (+23 points) after adjusting for the removal of attendance. Several schools on the south and west side became less selective: King (-19 points), Lindblom (-18 points) and Westinghouse (-17 points), all saw a decrease in average admissions scores -- after adjusting for attendance.

sehs_avg-admit-score

Academics

2009 Composite ACT

sehs_09-composite-ACT

 

Scores

The ACT is the most widely used college admissions test, so its scores are a useful guide for comparing high school academic performance. The test contains four sections: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science, a composite score is the average of these sections. The score of any of these sections and the composite range from 1 to 36.

Selective Enrollment High School students achieved an average composite score of 24.1 (75th percentile nationally) in 2009. This compares to an Illinois state average of 20.8 (50th percentile nationally) and a CPS average of 17.3 (26th percentile nationally). Average school scores varied significantly from 19.7 (48th percentile nationally) at King to 28.6 at Northside (93rd percentile nationally).

Five of the nine Selective Enrollment High Schools rank among the top 50 high schools in the State of Illinois, according to a Chicago Sun-Times analysis (below).

 

Top 50 High Schools in Illinois
2009 Rank 2008 Rank 2009 Percentile* School
1 1 91.47 Northside
2 2 90.74 Payton
4 4 84.38 Whitney Young
11 9 76.27 Jones College Prep
32 30 68.79 Lane Tech
*Percentage of students who scored the same or worse than the average student at the school.

 

While each Selective Enrollment school offers a unique program, there are common threads, including exceptional academics and a wide range of sports and extracurricular activities. All Selective Enrollment High Schools offer an extensive selection of Honors and Advanced Placement courses. Specific academic features include:

  • Colloquia (or seminars). A number of Selective Enrollment High Schools offer colloquia or specialized seminars that allow students to explore interests that range above and beyond the standard high school curriculum.
  • International Orientation. Selective Enrollment High Schools have an international flavor. In addition to numerous ethnic clubs, Selective Enrollment students can choose from a half dozen foreign languages, with one or more Far East languages being standard fare.
  • Block Scheduling. A number of Selective Enrollment High Schools use college-like block scheduling, where classes last twice the length of a typical high school class, but meet only twice a week.
  • Integrated Math/Science Curricula. Selective Enrollment High Schools have taken the lead in re-orienting the "traditional" science sequence, putting physics first - since it leads to insights in chemistry, and moving up chemistry to provide a background for biology. Several schools use the Interactive Mathematics Program which emphasizes integration between different disciplines and greater investigation.
  • Academic competitions. A number of Selective Enrollment High Schools have successfully competed at the state and national level in academic competitions, including the Academic Decathlon, and mathematics and entrepreneurial competitions.

Many Selective Enrollment High School graduates attend elite colleges. Indeed, they are among the high school graduates most coveted by these colleges.