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

Aravella Simotas Assembly District 36 New York City

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.

…

High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Latrice Walker

Name: Latrice Walker
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Latrice_Walker
Assembly: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Latrice-Walker
Phone: 718-342-1256

Assemblymember 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.…

High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Eric Adams

Brooklyn 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: 718-802-3700

Brooklyn 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 expected to run 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.…

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: 718-236-1598

Assembly-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.

To diversify schools, reimagine Gifted & Talented: A bill to expand segregated programs moves in exactly the wrong direction

Besides the Gifted and Talented admissions process issues.…

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: 718-765-6675

Senator John Liu is a supporter of keeping the SHSAT exam as the SOLE measure of merit for admissions 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.…

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: 212-312-1420

Assembly-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.…

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) 669-7250

Public 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.…

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) 238-6044

Senator 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.…

High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Jeffrey Dinowitz

Name: Jeffrey Dinowitz
Assembly Link: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Jeffrey-Dinowitz
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dinowitz
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Jeffrey_Dinowitz
Phone: 718-796-5345

Assembly-member  Dinowitz claims the typical “the test is not the problem” position.  He gives no solutions to “the real problem”, just that it’s not the fact we use the SHSAT exam as the SOLE measure of merit for access to Specialized High Schools.

Media: Assemblyman Dinowitz Decries Efforts to End Merit-Based Admissions in Specialized High Schools

Media: Bronx assemblyman implicated in racially charged school segregation scandal has never hired a black staffer during 25-year career

Media: Assemblyman Tried to Block Minorities From Attending Riverdale School: Suit…

High-Stakes Standardized Testing Supporter: Ron T. Kim

Name: Ron T. Kim
Assembly Link: https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Ron-Kim
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Kim_(politician)
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Ron_Kim_(New_York_assemblyman)
Phone: 718-445-0004

Assembly-member  Ron T. Kim seats on the Democrat Senate’s Education Committee.  He’s a proponent of keeping the SHSAT exam as the SOLE measure of merit for access to Specialized High Schools.

Media: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-carl-heastie-school-desegregation-20180607-story.html

Response to 2018 SHSAT Results

After lobbying to kill the 2018 SHSAT reform bill, Assembly-member Kim had nothing to say about the poor diversity in offers. Only 7 Black students got offers to Stuyvesant high school due to the exam.…