The honest answer: no cutoffs exist yet for the new system
Every parent with an 8th grader in Chicago is asking the same question right now: how high does the score need to be? The uncomfortable truth is that CPS has not published any cutoffs on the new 640-point scale. Those numbers will not exist until after February 12, 2027, when selective enrollment offers are released for the first PreACT 9 Secure cycle.
What does exist is three years of HSAT-era data on the old 900-point scale — a different scoring system using different grade inputs and a different test. Those historical numbers are useful for understanding which schools are more or less competitive relative to each other, but they cannot be converted to 640-scale targets. Any specific '640-scale cutoff' you see quoted today is a guess.
This guide tells you how to calculate your composite right now, what the historical HSAT numbers suggest about relative difficulty, and how to use that information to build a GoCPS ranking that is realistic — before the November 13 deadline.
How the 640-point composite is calculated
The 640-point admissions composite has two halves. The test half is built from the PreACT 9 Secure — but not all four sections equally. Per the official GoCPS High School Program Scoring Rubric, the admissions composite uses only English, Reading, and Math. Those three section scores are averaged to produce the admissions composite (1–32 scale), then multiplied by 10 for up to 320 test points. Science is on the test and in the score report but adds no admission points.
The grade half is your final 7th-grade GPA in the four core subjects (English, Math, Science, Social Studies), multiplied by 80, for up to 320 grade points. A 4.0 GPA earns 320; a 3.5 earns 280; a 3.0 earns 240. The two halves are added together: test points plus grade points equals your composite out of 640.
If your child's October score report shows English 24, Math 22, Reading 23, Science 21: the admissions composite is (24 + 22 + 23) ÷ 3 = 23.0, multiplied by 10 = 230 test points. Add a 7th-grade GPA of 3.75 × 80 = 300 grade points. Total composite: 530 out of 640. That is the number that matters for admissions — not the four-section composite and not Science.
Historical HSAT-era cutoffs for context (900-point scale, clearly labeled)
The numbers below are approximate cutoffs from recent HSAT admissions cycles, expressed on the old 900-point scale. They reflect a different test (60-minute Reading + Math, different grading), different grade inputs, and a different scoring formula. They are presented here as a relative ranking of school competitiveness — not as targets on the new scale.
Walter Payton College Prep: rank-all approximately 893, Tier 4 approximately 891, Tier 1 approximately 838. Northside College Prep: rank-all approximately 891, Tier 4 approximately 887, Tier 1 approximately 836. These two programs have been the highest-cutoff SEHS programs in every recent cycle.
Whitney M. Young Magnet: rank-all approximately 880, Tier 4 approximately 870, Tier 1 approximately 813. Jones College Prep: rank-all approximately 877, Tier 4 approximately 866, Tier 1 approximately 814. Lane Tech College Prep: rank-all approximately 858, Tier 4 approximately 838, Tier 1 approximately 786. Lane Tech has historically had the most accessible cutoffs of the five most competitive programs.
The relative ordering — Payton and Northside tightest, then Whitney Young and Jones close together, then Lane Tech somewhat lower — has been consistent across cycles. That relative ranking is the most reliable piece of information these historical numbers carry forward into the new system.
How tier changes the score you need
Every Chicago address is assigned Tier 1 through 4 based on the Census block group's socioeconomic profile. CPS distributes 30% of seats at each school to the highest scorers citywide (rank-all pool), and divides the remaining 70% equally among the four tiers — 17.5% per tier — with the highest scores within each tier admitted first.
In historical HSAT cycles, the gap between Tier 1 and Tier 4 cutoffs at the top-five schools ran approximately 50–60 points on the 900-point scale. Translated loosely to the 640-point scale, that spread would be in the range of 35–43 points — a meaningful advantage that lower-tier students hold over higher-tier applicants competing for the same program.
If you don't know your tier, the GoCPS portal has a lookup tool at gocps.org. Enter your residential address. Your tier is determined by your home address at the time you submit the application — it does not change based on which school your child currently attends.
The 35-point IB geographic bonus
Per the official GoCPS scoring rubric, applicants who live inside the geographic area of an IB program receive a 35-point bonus, raising the effective maximum composite from 640 to 675. This applies to every IB program in the city and to Hubbard's University Scholars program.
Walter Payton has IB and global studies programming. Brooks College Prep and South Shore International are the two SEHS programs most closely identified with the full IB Diploma Programme. If your family lives within the geographic area of any of these schools, the bonus changes your effective score. Confirm geographic eligibility at the school's open house or through the GoCPS program detail page.
How to build your GoCPS ranking right now
The GoCPS application closes November 13, 2026 at 5pm. With your score in hand from early November, you can calculate your composite and use it alongside the historical relative rankings to build a realistic list. The key rule: the GoCPS algorithm gives you one offer — the highest school on your list where you qualify. List schools in genuine preference order, most preferred first.
A student with a composite in the lower range should not list only Payton and Northside. Include schools lower on the historical ranking — Whitney Young, Jones, Lane Tech, and programs from the other six SEHS — as realistic matches. A student who lists only high-cutoff schools and misses them all gets no selective enrollment offer. A student who includes realistic matches gets into a good school.
The specific composite you need for each school in 2027 is unknown. What is known is the relative order of competitiveness, that tier matters for 70% of seats, and that 50% of the composite was already locked in before the test. If your grade points are strong (280–320), you have more flexibility on the test half. If your grade points are lower, you need the test to carry more weight, and the gap is harder to close.
When CPS will publish the first PreACT 9 cutoffs
CPS has stated publicly that point total information for the 2027-28 selections process will not be available until after results are released in February 2027. The February 12, 2027 offers date is when the first real 640-scale cutoffs become visible — by looking at who received offers and calculating their composites.
In the months after February 2027, CPS typically publishes an admissions data summary. That will be the authoritative source for 640-scale cutoffs. Until then, treat any specific number you see as an estimate based on extrapolation from a different scoring system.
This uncertainty is uncomfortable, but it is the accurate picture. The families making GoCPS ranking decisions today are working with imperfect information — which is why understanding the relative ordering of schools, knowing your tier, and including realistic matches on your list is more important than chasing a cutoff number that doesn't exist yet.