The night before
No new content. The night before is for sleep, not for cramming. Cramming the night before hurts more than helps — your brain consolidates what you've already learned during sleep.
Get to bed early. An extra hour of sleep is worth more than an extra hour of practice at this point.
Lay out tomorrow. Clothes, ID, snacks, a water bottle, two sharpened pencils (if needed), and the directions to the testing room. One less decision in the morning.
Morning of
Eat breakfast. Protein and complex carbs (eggs + toast, oatmeal, yogurt + fruit). Avoid sugar bombs that crash mid-test.
Arrive 15-20 minutes early. Check in, find your seat, sit down. Use the bathroom even if you don't think you need to.
Don't quiz yourself in the parking lot. If you don't know it now, you won't learn it in 5 minutes. Last-minute quizzing triggers anxiety. Listen to a song you like instead.
During the test — pacing
60 minutes total. Plan ~30 for Reading and ~30 for Math. If Reading is going slow, finish your current passage and move on.
~50 seconds per question. If a question takes more than 90 seconds, guess your best, mark it for review, and move on. No penalty for wrong answers. Empty answers cost more than wrong ones.
Two passes. Pass 1: every question you can solve quickly. Pass 2: come back to the hard ones with the time you have.
Always answer. Even pure guesses raise your score. Don't leave anything blank.
Strategy reminders
Reading: Read the question stem before the passage. Underline (mentally) what the question is asking. Pick the answer with the most direct support in the text.
Math: No calculator. Translate words to equations. Plug in answer choices when stuck. Watch out for sign errors and "off by one" answers.
Eliminate before guessing. Even ruling out one wrong answer raises your guess from 25% to 33%. Two? 50%.
If you panic
30 seconds is fine. Close your eyes, breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 6. Three rounds. The clock is fine losing a few seconds; your brain needs them more.
Skip the question. If a question is making you spiral, mark it and move on. Come back when your brain is settled.
You've practiced this. The mocks you took felt like a real test because they were a real test. You've already been here.
If English is not your child's strongest language
The CPS HSAT is offered in 6 languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Polish, and Urdu. Per the official GoCPS one-pager, you select the language at registration.
Pick carefully. Once the test has been administered in a language, your child cannot retake it in another. Choose the language your child reads most fluently in academic settings — not necessarily the language spoken at home.
How to request. CPS students: contact your current school. Non-CPS students: contact the CPS Office of Access & Enrollment. Make this request well before the October test date.
One last thing.
You will not feel ready. No one feels ready. This is normal. Walk in anyway. The kids who get into the schools they want are the kids who showed up. Show up.