Author: siteadmin
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My son was admitted to a specialized high school. Then the school told us it couldn’t accommodate his disability.
I asked if there was any plan to offer integrated co-teaching in the fall. “Not that we know of,” came the response. I then asked how many special education teachers they had on staff. Despite everything I already knew about Tech and the competitive admissions process to get there, I was still shocked: the answer…
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A Single Score No More: Rethinking the Admissions System for New York City’s Specialized High Schools to Preserve Academic Excellence and Promote Student Diversity
This paper gets a few of its core premises wrong. The SHSAT exam does NOT strongly predict academic performance nor ability. Papers put its validity at 20%. Which basically means it’s only predicting 20% of what makes a student successful. GPA comes in at about 40% as a comparison. Unlike Mayor de Blasio’s plan, this…
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Andrew Yang: Admission to elite schools shouldn’t just be about tests
This is a courageous and commendable stance from Mr. Yang. “I think we should de-emphasize them. If they are going to be used and they should be used in conjunction with more holistic practices,” Andrew Yang on Standardized Testing https://nypost.com/2019/10/21/andrew-yang-admission-to-elite-schools-shouldnt-just-be-about-tests/
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Program Aims To Level Playing Field For Testing Into NYC’s Specialty High Schools
Parents spend thousands of dollars, students “study to the test” for years. The most popular ( largest ) SHSAT prep program ( Kahn’s Tutorial ) reportedly charges about $2,500 for an 11-month course. Michelle Zhang, a freshman at Stuyvesant High School, knows first hand. “I was in test prep for the SHSAT for three years…
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Is This What We Consider ‘a Good Education’?
This is one of the best “perspective” pieces on the topic yet. The time has come, I believe, to redefine what it means to be a great public school. McGraw put it this way: “I don’t know why we’re celebrating a school that’s 97 percent Asian or white as a great school. I don’t know…
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Attorney Launches ‘DREAMChasers’ Program to Help Underrepresented Students Prepare for SHSAT
The students have been studying with instructors from Khan’s Tutorial. The 11 month course normally costs around $2,500. But these classes, for students from low-income homes, are free—thanks to a program called DREAMChasers. It was created by attorney and Bronx Science alum Jason Clark after visiting his old school and noticing the lack of diversity.…
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The Effects – Intended and Not – Of Ending the Specialized High School Test
Our findings also lead us to some larger conclusions about flaws inherent in New York City’s entire system of choice in public high school admissions. Because under this system, there is no simple, direct relationship between an individual applicant’s academic strengths and the caliber of the high school she or he ultimately attends. Myriad other…
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Back to School Reform
The allure of testing lies in its apparent neutrality—its democratic indifference to a student’s background and wealth. But this is not how the current system functions. Success correlates closely to socioeconomic advantages and access to test preparation. Pricey services offer tutoring to ever younger children. (There is a niche industry of consultants who help two-year-olds…
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The burden on elite high schools: They must change their cultures to welcome students of all backgrounds
Over the course of our meetings, many students lamented the lack of diversity at our schools, specifically with regard to black and Latino students. They shared that the lack of representation at their schools created environments that bred racism and other forms of prejudice both inside and outside the classroom. This atmosphere does not foster…