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Chancellor Carranza’s NYS 2021 Budget Comments on Repealing Hecht-Calandra
Chancellor Carranza gives the New York State Assembly and Senate a great summarized argument for repealing the Hecht-Calandra Act. Also at this hearing, Senator John Liu brought up the question of decertifying the 5 most recent SHSAT schools…
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Close Stuyvesant High School
This 2014 Slate.com article makes the unusual argument that Specialized High Schools should be closed. My alma mater, Stuyvesant High School, has been a lightning rod in New York City politics for as long as I can remember. Whenever critics have griped about the way Stuyvesant does business, my inclination has long been to say,…
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Boston: Exam school test administrator clashes with BPS over use of admissions test
· nonshatBoston Public Schools have for years misused the test results that help determine admissions to its coveted exam schools, in a way that makes it harder for “underrepresented” students to win admissions, according to the organization that administers the controversial exam. The fairness of the admissions process to the three exam schools—Boston Latin School, Boston…
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The System that Segregated NYC Schools
· overviewAlthough the mayor’s proposal is modest, opposition to it has been enormous. Opponents defend wholeheartedly the use of the SHSAT. It’s their belief that this high-stakes exam is objective, merit-based, and fair. This opposition movement is largely backed by lobbyist groups funded by CEOs, and alumni associations with deep pockets. Its ranks also include self-described progressives such…
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Lawyers Argue the Discovery Program on Injunction Appeal
· lawIn an attempt to appeal an earlier district court preliminary injunction decision plaintiff lawyers argue that the Discovery Program is somehow racist. It should be noted that… …that the Discovery program was started in the 1960s and predates the SHSAT exam and Hecht-Calandra itself. also, the Discovery program was reserved roughly 15% of offers in…
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My son was admitted to a specialized high school. Then the school told us it couldn’t accommodate his disability.
· opinionI 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
· lawThis 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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#YouthInAction: Teens Take Charge • BRAVE NEW FILMS
· opinionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgwnafyCPLg
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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…