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

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?

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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