King College Preparatory High School

Contact Information

Principal:	Jeffrey Wright
Admissions Director:	Kevin Tate
Phone:	773-535-1180
Web site:	www.kingcollegeprep.org
Address:	4445 South Drexel Blvd.,Chicago, IL 60653
Freshman class size:	220
Total enrollment:	885 (grades 9 - 12)

Admissions

The average score of an admitted student has increased from 800 in 2004-2005 to 838 in 2009-2010 (+ 38 points) on the 1,000 point admissions scale. In recent years, admissions scores at King have been relatively flat, while admissions scores for other Selective Enrollment High Schools rose significantly. This past year (2010-2011), average admission scores at King came in at 731 on the new 900 point scale. Even after the scores are adjusted for the absence of attendance (100 points), this latest score represents a decline of 19 points from the previous year.

sehs_king_fig1

Programs

King College Prep opened in the fall of 2002 with its first freshman college prep class. King College Prep's stated goal is to prepare students for further study after high school by developing students' intellect and citizenship. King offers a variety of Honors and Advanced Placement courses for its students. The school offers three specialty tracks: architecture and engineering, information technology, and performing and visual arts. The performing and visual arts program is perhaps the most visible component of the three. King puts on two major plays each year, and has a substantial marching band and visual arts effort.

In 2006, King hired a new Principal, Jeffrey Wright, who served for three years as Assistant Principal at Jones College Prep. Prior to Mr. Wright's hiring, there had been three principals in four years at King College Prep. In fact, Jeffrey Wright is King's first official four-year contract principal. Mr. Wright has received various honors including the Jones College Prep Advocate of the Year award, the USA Today All-USA Teacher First Team award, the 3-M Innovative Economic Educator Award and Disney's American Teacher Award.

Activities/Clubs/Sports

King students participate in basketball, baseball, dance, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling.

Academics

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 (75^th percentile nationally) in 2009. This compares to King's 2009 composite of 19.7 (48^th percentile nationally) and Chicago's 17.7 (30^th percentile nationally), making King slightly below the national average, but significantly above Chicago's average.

sehs_king_fig2

Trends in ACT Scores

From 2006 to 2009, King's composite ACT scores have not budged, remaining at 19.7 or at the 48^th percentile.

sehs_king_fig3

For additional academic information about King, click here for a state report card.

Selective Feedback (Parent Testamonials)

My son said that he felt better prepared after your program. There were plenty of topics that you guys covered that he had never been exposed to in his regular school.