On the SHSAT and High School Admissions

For the last decade, the SHSAT has been a celebrated cause for activists, students, and parents. Those in favor of abolishing or replacing the test point out the shocking racial discrepancy in specialized high schools as evidence of a broken system that puts lower income and minority students without access to adequate test prep at a disadvantage. The test's supporters highlight the exam’s objectivity, as well the success the Asian American community has enjoyed through it.

Leading this group is New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Right before public schools let out for the summer, he proposed granting students in the top seven percent of their middle school classes seats at one of the eight specialized high schools based on seventh grade core subject grades and seventh grade standardized test scores. The goal, according to an op-ed he published in Chalkbeat, is to

ensure that “our premier public high schools [...] start looking like New York City” by increasing the number of black and Latinx students represented in these schools.

Stuyvesant students do not have one coherent opinion on the test and high school admissions. As is usually the case, the truth in this issue is to be found somewhere in the middle.

It is glaringly obvious that specialized high schools suffer from a diversity issue; this is the result of an array of entrenched, connected social issues, ranging from deficient school systems that disenfranchise black and Latinx students starting in elementary school, to the simple lack of information about these schools in underprivileged middle schools. The New York City school system is unequal across the board, and that starts in pre-K.

However, common proposals aimed at rectifying this issue fail to do more than mask these underlying causes. Replacing the SHSAT fails to address alarming educational concerns in these middle schools or help the other 93 percent of students who wouldn’t get seats in a specialized high school. The mayor's proposal would likely diversify specialized high schools, but also stir up the and middle schools by encouraging students striving for admission into top schools to attend academically weaker middle schools (increasing their chances of being in the top seven percent). This might come at a cost to middle school environments and to the uniquely driven community Stuyvesant currently fosters.

Among those who still choose to attend the current feeder schools, an extremely competitive and potentially toxic atmosphere would develop. The stress of high school students trying to gain admission into college would be replicated in our middle schools. That is not a child-appropriate environment.

More at the heart of our opinion is that it is inaccurate and uninformed to describe the makeup of specialized high schools as homogeneous and lacking in diversity. The 70 percent Asian statistic masks the variety of South and East Asian students, among whom there is great heterogeneity in ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Arguing for de Blasio’s plan, State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said, “Students learn from each other's diverse experiences.” We agree. But we also maintain that we are learning. Stuyvesant’s community is comprised largely of first and second generation immigrants of many economic backgrounds. The drive to increase black and Latinx representation in specialized high schools reflects a real discrepancy between the racial breakdown of our schools and of the whole city. However, the drive to deflate Asian numbers in these schools reflects a lack of respect for the Asian minority, and for the variety of backgrounds those students have.

At Stuyvesant, 44 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. To describe schools like Stuyvesant as dominated by those who can afford expensive test prep fails to credit the dedication of the many low-income students in New York’s specialized high schools to gaining admission despite their backgrounds.

The Spectator has developed our own rudimentary plan for diversifying SHSAT schools while maintaining their essential culture (without excluding the Asian community):

Make sure that middle schools provide their students with the support and education students need to succeed on the SHSAT and in specialized high schools. This includes ensuring that all NYC students are ready for Algebra I by the eighth grade, or adjusting the math on the SHSAT to match citywide curricula. The same is true for reading comprehension.

More concrete policies for educational reform include the development of programs aimed at providing test preparation at low to no cost, such as DREAM or Stuy Prep. Feeder middle schools often provide free test prep after school or during lunch periods. Funding should be allocated to provide at least four months of twice weekly, free, in-school prep for every middle school.

In addition, we also see a limited number of government-hosted communication workshops to increase student and parental outreach about the exam. Many families remain unaware of the requirements for admission to one of these elite schools until very close to exam day, giving some students considerably less amount of time to study and review.

We also support considering standardized test scores with the SHSAT, since the state tests span multiple days, saving students who just had “one bad day.” Additionally, standardized English exams include a writing component, which would more accurately reflect the skills necessary to succeed at a competitive high school, but could not be added to the SHSAT because of the cost of grading written components.

Ultimately, it is indisputable that the culture of Stuyvesant and the specialized high schools is largely dependent on the students who attend it. Hard work, dedication, fortitude, and stoicism are all part of the ethos in these cauldrons of talent. It’s important to preserve this culture. We need to be cautious before uprooting it in a naïve attempt to display superficial progress in a broken educational system. True solutions will arise from pragmatic, systemic educational reform. Until then, we will continue fostering a productive and important discussion.