Over the almost 50 years of Hecht-Calandra act being law, we now have decades of research detailing the problems with high-stakes testing as the sole measure of student ability. Yet Hecht-Calandra and the exam it authorizes continue to be New York State law.

Denying the harm in using a single multiple-choice exam as the sole measure of a child’s academic worth with the mountains of scientific evidence we now have is similar to denying global warming.

No other district in the nation uses a single exam for screening a public high school. No red state or GOP-led State has a single-measure entrance exam.

Replace Hecht-Calandra act to allow modern psychometric testing practices that aren’t subject to the above issues.

How you can help

We have a hard time getting NY Assembly and Senate elected members to give on-record opinions on the test.  Call your Assembly and Senate representatives to ask for their opinion on the test.  And let us know their opinion.

Posts, News & Articles

Interested in learning more? We’ve collected 218 articles on Hecht-Calandra, SHSAT, and related topics.

abc, integratenyc, law, lawsuit

What to know about suit challenging alleged ‘racist’ education system in NYC

"The system reproduced by the New York City public schools is fundamentally one of caste: an artificial, graded 'ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis ...
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1966, bronx science, carmichael, interview, stokely, video

Stokely Carmichael interviewed by Mike Wallace discusses the SHSAT Exam

Almost 60 years ago, civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael calls out the inequitable SHSAT admissions process ...
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boston, boston latin, exam-schools, nonshsat, nytimes

Boston Overhauls Admissions to Exclusive Exam Schools

The new admissions system will still weigh test results and grades, but, following a model pioneered in Chicago, it will also introduce ways to select applicants who come from poor and disadvantaged neighborhoods.Under the new system, the applicant pool will ...
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aapi perspective, first-hand, opinion, student, xinshengproject

Why I Support Reforming New York City’s Elite High School Admissions

The usage of examples of Asian success to justify our current high school system harms all communities of color. This rhetoric reduces the Asian American community to a monolith by focusing on a subset of its population. Educational inequity affects ...
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exam-schools, nonshsat, tjhsst, virginia, washingtonpost

After admissions changes, Thomas Jefferson High will welcome most diverse class in recent history, officials say

Brabrand said the more-representative nature of TJ’s newest class will have everyday benefits as students interact in classrooms, in hallways and on the playing field, learning to understand and love people different from themselves. And, he added, these advantages will ...
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chalkbeat, first-hand, integration, interview, racism, student

She got into one of NYC’s top high schools. Four years later, she wishes she hadn’t

“I started to slowly realize that a lot of these kids had kind of been sheltered from other races of people to the point where they didn’t really know how to be racially sensitive,” said Yarde, 17, who graduated Monday ...
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AFT, algar, news, nypost

Teachers union chief cites Stuyvesant HS in ripping standardized testing

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten critiqued standardized testing Thursday — and specifically cited the racial makeup of heavily Asian Stuyvesant High School as an example of what’s wrong with the system.“If you need proof of the limitations of ...
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law, nyclu, opinion

The Mayor has shifted blame to state lawmakers. But he can take action now if he wants to.

If the DOE wants to get rid of the test, it can, at least for the majority of specialized schools. At five of eight specialized high schools, the City has the sole authority to end the use of the test ...
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analysis, meritocracy, video, vox

Is Meritocracy a Myth?

...
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analysis, court, law, lawyer, zubair

Brown’s Lost Promise: New York City Specialized High Schools as a Case Study in the Illusory Support for Class-Based Affirmative Action

But even if the diversity rationale falls out of favor with the U.S. Supreme Court, New York City’s revamped Discovery program should not. The law that created the program and the manner in which it is applied are class-conscious, not ...
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