At the city’s eight specialized high schools requiring an exam as the sole basis of admission, students classified with disabilities represent a staggeringly small share of the population, much lower than the average at high schools citywide. In fact, the specialized high schools rank close to the bottom or last, according to the Education Department data from the 2022-23 school year.
Category: profiles
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He dreamed of attending Stuyvesant. But getting accommodations for his disability proved too much.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Robert Cornegy
Name: Robert Cornegy
Council Link: https://council.nyc.gov/robert-cornegy/
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Robert_Cornegy
Phone: 718-919-0740Robert Cornegy is an NYC City Council member and a candidate for Brooklyn Borough President. He represents city council district 36.
Mr. Cornegy is also a firm supporter of the SHSAT specialized test as the sole measure of student ability. Even as just about every expert explains that he can’t rely on a single 90 question multiple-choice test as the sole measure of a child’s academic ability.
Brooklyn Council Member Cornegy Misused Office for Borough President Run, Complaint to Council Charges
https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/2/17/22288694/robert-cornegy-office-complaint
Employees were asked for campaign work and contributions — both banned under ethics rules — a former staffer alleges. The complaint also contends that Cornegy planned campaign activities with his top aide while on the job.Media: Robert Cornegy’s endorsements that weren’t
However, Cornegy’s campaign has inflated its endorsement count: three people who the campaign told City & State endorsed Cornegy have not done so.
Media:
Cornegy’s accepting Real Estate lobbying money Education Equity Policies
As for education, and judging from Mr. Cornegy’s interviews, I can only conclude his position stems from a lack of understanding rather than a firm belief of any kind.
So I’ve taken some stances that I don’t care whether they’re popular or not, they were right. I was one of probably the only Democratic members who voted for an expansion of charters, because charters in my district have provided a pathway for students to do really well, especially on socialization and standardized testing, which I think are two of the pillars for our students to be successful. I’ve also fought diligently to bring back Gifted and Talented programs.
Robert Cornegy to PLACENYC interviewerI’m a tremendous advocate for not removing the test into our specialized high schools. I’ve been fighting against that. Again, very unpopular at the council, right? For some reason, they see the necessity to do away with something that I think has been a great tool for students to be able to access. So I’m in that fight with you ( PLACENYC). So you have an advocate and an ally on the council in that fight to make sure that we’re not removing.
Robert Cornegy to PLACENYC interviewerYeah, I don’t particularly care for that program ( D15 integration plan ) because I think that there are … I remember when we fought to bring the Gifted and Talented programs back.
Robert Cornegy to PLACENYC interviewerSo again, I’m on the Education Committee at the council and have established great relationships. The Borough President’s Office, as I mentioned, has the largest bully pulpit. So everything from sounding the alarm to work with advocates like you on the call for a good solid education policies swings the pendulum, right?
Robert Cornegy to PLACENYC interviewerOne of the things that’s happening is people are listening to advocates around tests and around the specialized high schools more. There was a time when the advocates were trying to just push so hard to to get rid of the test. Me being an African American male and standing up and saying, “No, we don’t want to get rid of the test. Change the whole …” It slowed down the process. The test probably would have been going because the mayor wanted it gone, and the chancellor wanted it gone and these advocates. But there were black people like me, who said, “No, no. We never said we wanted the test to go away, we think there shouldn’t be a measurement tool.” Consequently, the fight still continues and we’re getting momentum. With the larger platform and from the borough president’s office, I can take the momentum that we already have. Like you said, which is the best analogy somebody can get, swinging the pendulum the pendulum back in the right direction.
Robert Cornegy to PLACENYC interviewerSo I’m a top tier candidate, even though I’m not walking in lockstep with some of the wild, crazy ideas around shifting policy and education as it relates to our kids. So I think it’s an excellent opportunity to invest in someone who is like you, who’s been a part of the system, who’s not idealistic, but who’s practical about what we can do to change the system and who’s a hard worker. So I would just ask that you continue to spread the word that there’s somebody out there that’s incredibly interesting in the in the educational space, who’s well steeped in what the needs are, and who stands on his own.
Robert Cornegy to PLACENYC interviewerThe full interview can be found on youtube.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Aravella Simotas
Name: Aravella Simotas
Assembly Link: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Aravella-Simotas
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Aravella_Simotas
Phone: 718-545-3889
Although frequently virtue-signaling in public, Assemblymember Simotas has been a firm supporter of keeping the SHSAT high-stakes exam as the sole admissions criteria in NYC public specialized high schools.
Media:
From: “Aravella Simotas” <[email protected]>
Date: June 27, 2019 at 12:19:40 PM EDT
To: [Redacted]
Subject: RE: Please OPPOSE A2173 on NYC Specialized High School Admissions
Dear [Redacted]:
Thank you for your letter concerning the Specialized High School Admissions Test. I am always glad to receive feedback from my constituents.
As the mother of a young child and a product of the public school system, I share your commitment to supporting our public schools. While it is important to work towards increasing diversity in New York City’s specialized high schools, I agree that eliminating the entrance exam is not the right way to achieve this goal.
Having one standardized admissions test for our specialized high schools ensures that all students are judged based on the same objective measure and considered solely on merit. Introducing subjective criteria into the admissions process could have unintended consequences and lead to a less rigorous curriculum in these schools, which would ultimately do a disservice to high-achieving students of all backgrounds. Furthermore, this proposal would deprive students in private and parochial schools of the opportunity to compete for admission on an equal playing field to their peers in public schools. To address racial and economic disparities in high school admissions without compromising high academic standards, we should work to expand access to quality educational opportunities and test preparation services for students in disadvantaged communities. In the Assembly, I will continue to fight to ensure every student has the chance to thrive and reach their full potential.
I appreciate you taking the time to write to me. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Aravella Simotas
New York State Assemblymember
36th District – QueensIn the above letter, Assemblymember Simotas goes through the greatest hits of incorrect assumptions regarding the SHSAT exam.
The SHSAT is objective only if you do not consider that it tests above grade material. Parents pay thousands of dollars a year to get their children tutoring above what’s taught at school. This ensures that the SHSAT is biased toward wealth or at least the willingness to invest thousands into it.
Assemblymember Simotas continues to claim that ANY admissions criteria outside this single high-stakes exam would be subjective. I guess every college, including every Ivory league has been doing it wrong.
Assemblymember Simotas suggests there are better ways of increasing diversity at our specialized high schools. Yet she never proposes or passes any bills toward this. Keep in mind that NYC already spends about $20M/year on this single exam!
Simotas’ is a common NY democrat strategy when supporting conservative agendas. Simply vaguely claiming that there’s a better way. Sadly, they’ve been using this redirect since the 1970s.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Latrice Walker
Name: Latrice Walker
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Latrice_Walker
Assembly: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Latrice-Walker
Phone: 718-342-1256Assemblymember Latrice Walker advocates for keeping the SHSAT exam as the sole admission’s criteria in New York City specialized high schools.
Even as Assemblymember Walker’s district compromises many students who have shown their academic merit but will never have a chance to attend a public specialized high school, her position is not unexpected. Assemblymember Walker is an alumnus of a specialized high school. And alumni mostly support continuing the misguided tradition of using a single bubble test as the sole measure of students’ academic ability.
Assemblymember Walker’s opinion brings absolutely nothing new to the debate.
Blaming the lack of gifted and talented programs is misguided at best. G&T programs increase segregation, they do no decrease it. We’ve seen this before in New York City.
Assemblymember Walker believes the solution to the results as an invalid high-stakes test, is to put FOUR year-olds through more high stakes tests and tracking. These kids are barely out of diapers.
Controversy
Here’s how Assemblymember Walker feels about scholarships to minority students…
The Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators did not give out a single scholarship in 2018 — despite typically taking in over $500,000 in annual revenue.
[…]
The association’s president, Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, a Democrat from Brooklyn, did not return a call for comment on Sunday. The second-ranking member of the group, state Sen. Leroy Comrie, a Democrat from Queens, said he had nothing to say about the subject and hung up on a Times Union reporter.
The group’s website is no longer working. The “premium” package for this year’s event starting Feb. 15 at the Hilton Albany goes for $445, with tickets for individual events going for around $30, according to a registration form on Eventbrite. In 2017, tickets were $175.https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Minority-legislators-fundraiser-fails-to-fund-13498734.php
Both she and Senator Leroy Comrie are strong supporters of the SHSAT exam as the sole admissions criteria of specialized high schools.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Eric Adams
Brooklyn President Eric Adams in a “Keep the SHSAT” test t-shirt Name: Eric Adams
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Eric_Adams_(New_York)
Phone: 718-802-3700Brooklyn President Eric Adams now advocates for keeping the SHSAT exam as the sole admission’s criteria in New York City specialized high schools.
Mr. Eric Adams is running for mayor in 2021 and is currently funding raising for this purpose.
At first, Mr. Adams was AGAINST the SHSAT high-stakes test for many years. And he participated in the NYC mayor’s SHSAT reform press launch.
Media:
Eric Adams at the Mayor’s SHSAT launch Also, consider Adams’ about-face regarding the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT. In June 2017, Adams and Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. announced that their task force on gifted and talented education recommended that “a single test not be the only source of admission” to the city’s coveted high schools because it had resulted in very low percentages of blacks and Latinos at the schools.
In June, Adams similarly backed de Blasio’s push for changes, saying, “We must replace the admissions model that has SHSAT scores as its sole admissions criterion.”
Two weeks later, though, the New York Post reported that Adams had changed his position “after Chinese-American donors pulled out of upcoming fundraisers.” Though Adams denied that, writing in a New York Amsterdam News op-ed that “the voices of concerned parents and educators … have moved me, not financial considerations as baseless tabloid rumors suggested.” His reversal smacked of politics, not principle.
“Eric Adams has faced less scrutiny than he deserves” CityAndState
Eric Adams being protested by Pro-High-Stakes Testing activists after declaring his support for the Mayor’s reform proposal, but before his public reversal ( PTA President and Plaintiff in McAuliffe Discovery lawsuit against NYC seats in the front row ) The media continued with reports on “changes” to Mr. Adam’s fundraising efforts…
Media: https://nypost.com/2018/06/18/brooklyn-president-turns-on-school-testing-plan-after-donor-backlash/
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams quietly reversed his support for eliminating the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test after Chinese-American donors pulled out of upcoming fundraisers, The Post has learned.
Two sources told The Post that a June 21 fundraiser planned with Chinese hotel workers in Manhattan was canceled, while other donors from the Chinese community had begun backing out of a separate event.
Adams has been fundraising hard this year for an expected mayoral run in 2021.
“Brooklyn president turns on school testing plan after donor backlash” NyPost
“Nothing [moves] faster than when it hits your wallet,” a leader in the Brooklyn Chinese community said of Adams’ change of heart.
The Brooklyn BP was among the first public officials to back Mayor Bill de Blasio’s bid to eliminate the entrance exams, which for years have yielded relatively few black and Hispanic students at the city’s top eight public high schools.It’s very disappointing to see this about-face happen even as the evidence clearly shows NY state should not use a single 114 multiple-choice test as the SOLE measure of a child’s academic ability.
I can only hope that NYC voters will reject Mr. Adams and his disappointing position on education equity.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: William Colton
Name: William Colton
Assembly Link: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/William-Colton/
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/William_Colton
Phone: 718-236-1598Assembly-member William Colton is a proponent of keeping the SHSAT exam as the SOLE measure of merit for access to Specialized High Schools.
Media:
Assembly-member Colton conveniently leaves out the fact that NYC’s gifted & talented programs actually increase segregation. Parents from across the city opportunity hoard these competitive seats and we have a replay of the SHSAT issue but with 5 year-olds.
Besides the Gifted and Talented admissions process issues. Gifted and Talented programs also remove many of the highest performing students in every classroom. This has a dampening effect on most students left behind. In-class student ability grouping is much more effective and has less negative side-effects. E.g. Differentiated Instruction strategies.
Senator Colton calling on SHSAT supporters to rally before a planned Senate “hearing”.
Mr. Colton rallying anti-reform protests by invoking Dr. Martin Luther King. You can’t make this stuff up…
According to a seating NY Assemblyman, using multiple-measures for a public high-school’s admission process is a kin to “destroying the future of our children”.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: John Liu
Name: John Liu
Senate Link: https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/john-c-liu
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/John_Liu
Phone: 718-765-6675Senator John Liu is a supporter of keeping the SHSAT exam as the SOLE measure of merit for
ad missions to Specialized High Schools.Senator Liu leads the Democrat Senate NYC Education committee. Which means he gets to decide what NYC education bills are brought to the Senate floor.
So we can pretty much confirm at this point that the mayor’s SHSAT proposal is dead as long as Senator Liu leads this committee.
Here’s Senator Liu arguing for keeping the SHSAT.
There are many inaccurate statements in this conversation. But the strangest part of all of this is that Senator Liu was at one point very pro-SHSAT reform.
We can even use the old John Liu to refute the new one…
Wow, what a difference 5 years makes!
Finally, here’s Senator Liu’s statement of support of the NAACP’s federal complaint.
Liu-Statement-FinalAs a past Liu supporter, his 180-degree turn on high-stakes testing is very disappointing. Maybe because it’s clear Senator Liu understands using a single
3 hour multiple-choice test is wrong, as he says in his previous interview.Here are a few quotes from Senator Liu’s Huffington Post article which go directly against his current position.
The Specialized High schools are the equivalent of New York City’s Ivy League. Admittance to these schools is a ticket to success. They bring an almost certain guarantee of high school graduation, in a city where the graduation rate is 65 percent, and an almost certain guarantee of college acceptance. More than a quarter of the graduates of Stuyvesant and Bronx Science go on to university in the real Ivy Leagues, at Harvard, and Yale, and Brown, or other top tier colleges.
John Liu, May 30th 2012Many educational experts have long decried this admissions method and some good ideas have been proposed to change it.
John Liu, May 30th 2012
Assemblyman Karim Camara, from the 43rd Assembly District in Brooklyn, and State Senator Adriano Espaillat, of the 31st Senate District representing parts of the Upper West Side and the Bronx, are sponsoring legislation on the state level to change the admissions criteria for the Specialized High Schools to include grade point averages and other factors, such as interviews, personal statements, and portfolios, as well as an entrance exam. Their model is, in fact, similar to the same broad admissions process used by most colleges and universities in the U.S.https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-c-liu/nyc-specialized-high-schools_b_1391712.html
2019-04-03: Senator John Liu of Queens now calls the Mayor’s race-neutral SHSAT reform plan “racist”:
http://video.sinovision.net/?id=49614 -
High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Yuh-Line Niou
Name: Yuh-Line Niou
Assembly Link: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Yuh-Line-Niou
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Yuh-Line_Niou
Phone: 212-312-1420Assembly-member Yuh-Line Niou is a proponent of keeping the SHSAT exam as the SOLE measure of merit for access to Specialized High Schools.
Although her website claims to be against standardized testing, this is false. Speaker Heastie reported that assembly-member Niou was one of the key assembly-members to lobby against allowing the 2018 SHSAT bill on the floor for a vote.
In blocking this vote, assembly-member Niou blocked a proposal that would fix a historic under-representation of girls in our top STEM high schools. Since the blocked proposal would increase girls at specialized high schools from 44% to 67%.
Response to 2018 SHSAT Results
After complaining that she did not have time to discuss the mayor’s 2018 SHSAT proposal, Assembly-member Niou ignored the subject for the entire year.
The internet was abuzz with discussion after it was shown that only 7 Black students were given offers to Stuyvesant high school due to the SHSAT exam. Assembly-member Niou had absolutely no response to the result.
I asked but got no response either.
She did have time to post Baby shark though.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Jumaane D. Williams
Name: Jumaane D. Williams
Public Advocate Link: https://advocate.nyc.gov/
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Jumaane_Williams
Phone Hotline: (212) 669-7250Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams strongly supports the SHSAT as the sole measure of academic merit. He argues that the only reason he got into a specialized high school was that he was good at taking tests, and not particularly good in class.
Jumaane Williams has also been heavily lobbied on his SHSAT position by some of the city’s most powerful lobbyists.
Media:
Jumaane accepts campaign contributions from Pro-SHSAT lobbyists for multiple years.
These also seem to coincide with increase SHSAT scrutiny Now here’s Jumaane in his own words ( same years campaign contributions )…
It’s difficult to fact-check this speech because there’s so much wrong. Beacon high school stats are wrong. Beacon is 14% Black, and 20% Latino. Much better than Stuyvesant’s 1% Black.
He also argues substantially against multiple-measures. Claiming that
muliple -measures of assessment are less accurate, while the ENTIRE industry argues the exact opposite.Response to 2018 SHSAT Results
Mr Williams had the same tired excuses and redirects.
Jumaane has been falsely “calling” for discussion from at least 2014. He never facilitates this discussion. He has never provided a framework for this discussion. He simply punts the issue with “needs discussion”, leaving the status quo he supports in place.
The “Cutting off access points to education” Jumanne mentions is referring to a small tweak in the way the city defines “disadvantaged” in reference to disadvantaged students. The city now includes a child’s school poverty concentrate when calculating
disadvantageness . That’s what Jumaane considers the big injustice this week.As for “pitting communities against each other“, I’d like to remind our public advocate that we have always had to fight the status quo for school integration. It has never come easily.
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High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Andrew Gounardes
Senator Andrew Gounardes Name: Andrew Gounardes
Senate Link: https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/andrew-gounardes
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Andrew_S._Gounardes
Phone: (718) 238-6044Senator Andrew Gounardes defends the use of the single SHSAT multiple-choice test as the SOLE measure of a student’s ability without any reservation. Senator Gounardes has a classic “Resource Hoarding” position. His constituents are over-represented by the exam, hence he defends it.
Senator Gounardes also claims the typical “the test is not the problem” position. He does not acknowledge anti-female bias in the SHSAT.
In the video below he also claims that many Democratic Senators also opposes the exam. Senator Gounardes appears to be against school integration policies in general, e.g. D15 diversity plan.
Media: Short video
Media: Full video
Andrew Gounardes Website First, Specialized high schools have over 15,000 of the most sort after high school seats. So, no that’s not a small number.
Secondly, the 1% statistic Senator Gounardes uses is disingenuous since he’s considering all students from all grades and ages in the entire city. But still, specialized schools would account for more than 1% of students.
Thirdly, the SHSAT reform proposal is by no means the ONLY initiative put forward by the city’s department of education. Arguing it doesn’t solve all school problems is invalid. We should fix the use of a statistically biased exam, but ALSO continue to solve other education equity issues. So much for philoxenia he claims to believe in.
One thing’s clear, we won’t solve this issue while re-electing Democrats like Senator Andrew Gounardes. If you’re interested in a primary challenge and would like help, please reach out to NYCandidate.org