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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 210 articles on Hecht-Calandra, SHSAT, and related topics.

analysis, meritocracy, video, vox

Is Meritocracy a Myth?

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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analysis, anastas, audio, debate-overview

The Complicated Debate Around Specialized High School Admissions

https://soundcloud.com/katherine-christine-anastas/the-complicated-debate-around-specialized-high-school-admissions ...
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gifted-and-talented, ibo, segregation, statistics, statistics

WERE BLACK AND HISPANIC KINDERGARTENERS UNDER-REPRESENTED AND RACIALLY SEGREGATED IN GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAMS IN 2018-2019?

Asian and white students comprised more than three-quarters of students across all Gifted & Talented programs in 2018-2019, despite being about a third of the overall kindergarten cohort.Conversely, Black and Hispanic kindergarteners comprised 63 percent of the kindergarten population but ...
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chalkbeat, first-hand, mental health, news, stuyvesant

Stuyvesant students say the crushing workload is hurting their mental health. Here’s what they’re doing about it.

Homework for regular classes is supposed to be capped at an hour over two days, or two hours for Advanced Placement classes, Giordano explained.Much of the discussion about the path forward has often been mired in the debate over academic ...
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mayoral candidate, news, politician, politico, touré

NYC mayoral candidates divided on politically fractious elite high school test

“We cannot have admissions practices that have nothing to do with the learning abilities or needs of our kids, that are frankly just testing how much income parents have and for low-income parents who are scraping it together instead of ...
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news, ny1, principals

Students Will Take SHSAT in Person Next Week, Adding to Strain on Middle School Principals

Covid pandemic or not, NYC holds the SHSAT exam. "It seems incredibly unfair to put families in the position where they, again, any family who chose remote learning, now has to choose whether it is worth jeopardizing the safety and ...
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analysis, de blasio, mayor, pdf, proposal

Mayor’s 2018 Proposal

Mayor Bill de Blasio's 2018 SHSAT proposal ...
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editorial-board, hunter, nytimes, opinion

Reopen Schools, and Reform Them

Instead of allowing the pandemic to worsen longstanding inequities, New York could seize on the disruption to fix its broken high school admissions practices at all its schools. Several promising proposals have emerged in recent years. Instead of a single exam, Albany could allow ...
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medium, opinion, parents for responsive equitable safe schools, PLACE

Nobody’s Special PLACE

But if schools are “good” and “bad” based on who enrolls, then what function does a school itself serve?The SHSAT conversation has crystalized into who is worthy of the “best” education, and who is not. A dyslexic student who excels on ...
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