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Free, offline-first practice for the CPS High School Admissions Test. Built by a parent for kids in Chicago Public Schools.
The CPS admissions test is now the PreACT 9 Secure, made by ACT, taken once in October of 8th grade (first administration: October 7, 2026). It is computer-based with four timed sections in fixed order: English (44 questions, 35 min), Math (34 questions, 45 min), Reading (33 questions, 40 min), and Science (32 questions, 35 min) — 143 questions in about 2 hours 35 minutes. A calculator is allowed in Math only (Science explicitly prohibits it); every section has four choices (A-D), Math included. There is no penalty for wrong answers — always answer.
Each section is scored on the ACT-aligned 1-32 scale, and the PreACT composite is the average of the four sections. CPS's admissions composite is a different number: its official scoring rubric builds it from English, Reading and Math only — Science is on the test but adds no admission points. For the 2027-28 cycle CPS scores admissions out of 640 points: that English/Reading/Math composite × 10 (up to 320) plus the final 7th-grade GPA × 80 (up to 320), weighted 50/50. Cutoffs on the new 640 scale will not be published until after February 2027 results; every cutoff you see quoted today is a historical HSAT-era 900-point figure.
Questions are original or adapted from public-domain state assessments (NYSED, Massachusetts MCAS, Illinois IAR, Smarter Balanced) aligned to 8th-grade Common Core State Standards. Vocabulary is curated from frequency lists used by major test-prep providers.
Spaced repetition follows the SM-2 algorithm (the basis of Anki), proven to roughly double long-term retention compared to massed study.
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It is the entrance exam for Chicago's Selective Enrollment High Schools. As of the 2026-27 admissions cycle the test is the PreACT 9 Secure, made by ACT; CPS still officially calls the process “the CPS HSAT.” It replaced the old 60-minute HSAT beginning with the October 7, 2026 administration.