Since its first local event in 2007, the Schaumburg Prairie Center’s Screen Test Student Fest has shown hundreds of remarkable short films made by students from all over the world. The festival is open to student filmmakers in grades K-12, whose project entries are selected by a panel of judges to be exhibited. Screen Test holds three events annually: Screen Test Local Fest, highlighting films made by students from throughout the Chicago greater metropolitan area; Screen Test Jr., for filmmakers in grades K-8; and the International High School Competition, showing the best of the best student films.

In 2015 Screen Test began accepting and exhibiting films from outside the U.S. and has since represented all but one continent with projects from distant locales including New Zealand, China, India, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Brazil, and Lesotho, Africa. All filmmakers whose projects are shown at Screen Test must represent their films at the event, either in person or via online video connection. Directors are given the opportunity to discuss their films after they’re screened and answer questions from the audience.

Cash prizes are awarded at each Screen Test event. Award categories for the International High School Competition include Achievement in Writing, Achievement in Production Values, 3^rd Place, 2nd Place, Best in Show, and the popular viewer-selected Audience Award.

Screen Test Student Fest is a not-for-profit program of the Village of Schaumburg.