A Quirk Of The Tier System: More Applicants In Higher Tiers
March 15, 2012
Under the current admissions system for Chicago’s Selective Enrollment High Schools and Academic Centers, it is much more difficult for a qualified Tier 4 student to land a spot than it is for a qualified Tier 1 student, for one simple reason – there are many more qualified Tier 4 students than Tier 1 students, yet each Tier gets the same allotment of Selective Enrollment and Academic Center seats.
CPS has divided the city into four Tiers, with each Tier representing one quarter of the school-age population. CPS currently gives each Tier exactly one quarter of the seats (after the first 30%, based on scores only, have been allotted). But one quarter of the school-age population is not the same as one quarter of the qualified school-age population.
