Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are experiencing technical difficulties that have led to the postponement of key high school admissions tests, affecting thousands of students.
These technical issues started in early October when the selective enrollment high school admissions test, critical for admission to the city’s premier schools, was disrupted due to issues with the testing platform operated by private vendor Riverside Assessments LLC. According to Hoodline, around 24,000 CPS eighth-graders were impacted by this glitch, leaving them and their families unsure how to proceed.
Riverside Assessments LLC, having a $1.2 million contract with CPS for these selective enrollment tests, has admitted fault and committed to resolving it swiftly.
Yesterday, October 18, it was announced by the CPS administration that the admissions tests are rescheduled for late October and early November as a temporary fix to the problem, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The upcoming tests for CPS eighth-graders will be conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday in English, followed by further exams on November 1 in five different languages. Students that were prevented from finishing the test due to the technical issues can retake it on these new dates. Non-CPS students, whose tests were cancelled due to the unresolved issues, can choose to reschedule for October 28, October 29, or November 5. These changes are not expected to alter the November 9 high school application deadline.
