Examination High Schools

  • Missed the fall application deadline? Apply during Round 2
    The second round of applications for admission to examination high schools for Fall 2020 will run from April 27, 2020 to June 29, 2020. Interested families may complete an interest survey to be notified when the second round application opens.

    Click here to take the survey 
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  • Examination Schools

    Detroit Public Schools Community District offers enrollment in five selective admission high school programs, which offer rigorous college preparation, career preparation, competitive athletics programs and inspiring arts programs. Students are required to take an examination for admission consideration.

    Who can apply to an Examination High School?

    Eighth grade students attending public and non-public schools are eligible to apply for admission to 9th grade in fall 2020. 

    Current high school students may also apply for limited openings in grades 10-12 for fall 2020, as well as limited seats in January 2020 (mid-year transfer).  

    Application Process

    Applications will be conducted electronically only. No paper applications will be accepted. See the Application Requirements and Application Assistance pages for more information.

    Placement Exam Information

    The examination high school placement exam is a critical element of the application process. Every applicant must complete the placement exam for admissions consideration for one of the District's examination high schools. 

    See the Taking the Test page for more information.

     

    Examination High School Round 1: What’s Next?

    Applicants who submitted an Examination High School application in November and took the High School Placement Test during the first round will receive a notification to the email address submitted with their application. Applicants will receive a placement decision at 6 p.m. on January 10, 2020. Mid-year transfer applicants will be notified at 6 p.m. on January 17.

    Students who do not receive an email should log into their Submittable account to receive their placement decision. Students who are satisfied with their placement should follow the instructions in the letter and submit their enrollment paperwork by April 24.

    Students who are not satisfied with their placement decision have the opportunity to petition the decision. The deadline to submit a petition is Friday February 7, 2020. 

    Petition process

    The petition process is for students who took the HSPT and submitted an application for entrance into a Detroit Public School Community District Examination High School but did not receive their desired placement. The District offers the opportunity for those students to participate in a petition process to request a reconsideration of their school assignments or reversal of their denial of admission to the exam high school of their choice. Students may petition to as many schools as they desire.

    The petition window opened on January 10 for applicants applying for Fall 2020 admissions. The window for mid-year transfer students to petition will open on Friday January 17. The deadline is February 7 for all petition applications.

    Who can Petition?

    Any student who applied to an examination high school, took the HSPT and received a decision.

    Petition Instructions

    Students who would like to submit a petition will need to do the following:

    1. Log into your Submittable account by clicking the "View Application" in the email
    2. This should route you to your submission page where you will see the Student's full name at the top of the page
    3. Click on the tab “Petition Form”
    4. Fill out the petition form and upload the required items
    5. Important: click "Submit" when complete
     
    If you don't see the "Petition Form" tab:
    1. Click “Submissions” from the top menu
    2. Under the tab “All Submissions”, click on your name
    3. Follow the above instructions

    Petition Requirements

    Students who choose to participate in the petition process will be required to submit a student-authored essay, three letters of recommendation, or two letters of recommendation and a supporting artifact.

    Additionally, an in-person interview may be required. Students will be notified if they will be required to participate in an interview. Not all students will be interviewed.

    1. Student-authored essay: What do you think is important for people to know about why you are a strong candidate for the school(s) you have identified? Your essay must explain regarding your academic record, circumstance and/or details about other special skills or talent that would not have been revealed during the initial 750-work limit. The applicant must type this into Submittable.
    2. Two letters of recommendation: Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation that support the claims made in their essay. Letters may come from teachers, principals, mentors and/or community members. Family members may not submit recommendations on behalf of students, and letters should be specific to the individual student and their qualifications for admissions to their desired school. This must be uploaded to Submittable.
    1. Optional third letter or artifact: Applicants may submit a third letter of recommendation or an artifact that supports the claims made in the essay. This must be uploaded to Submittable.

    Petition Deadline

    The petition window will close on Friday February 7. 

    For more detailed information on the petition process, please visit the Petitions web page.

     

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