International Students
It is the policy of the Chicago Public Schools to recognize and grant credit for high school studies completed elsewhere on a year-by-year equivalent basis. Credit granted should be comparable to the number of credits obtainable in one academic year at a Chicago Public High School.
All school records (grades 8-12) from students arriving from foreign countries must be evaluated by the Department of Educational Policy and Procedures, Foreign Student Services.
Original documents must be submitted for review. This includes:
- Report cards/transcripts listing subjects and final grades
- Birth Certificate or Passport
High schools shall record transfer credits, course grades and course level designations based on the Evaluation of the Foreign Secondary School Credentials provided by the Department of Educational Policy and Procedures, Foreign Student Services.
The State's prescribed screener must be administered to verify the student's English Language proficiency. The results of this assessment will determine English course placement.
Visit https://cps.edu/Pages/ForeignStudent.aspx for more information.
Information for Parents
For the evaluation of secondary credentials from a foreign country:
Please email Ms. Garcia ([email protected]) a scanned copy of original documents (report card/transcript), listing subjects and final grades for each year of high school level education and the student's birth certificate and/or passport/American Visa.
The documents will be sent out to the Office of Foreign Student Services for evaluation before enrollment. Once we receive the evaluation, we will give the family a call to schedule an English placement test for the student. Based on the results of both the evaluation and the placement test, students will be assigned appropriate courses and grade level.