SHSAT History: New York Specialized High School Admission Policies Have Changed Over the Years

new reform movement was launched in 1996 when a report issued by the community-activist organization ACORN branded the high-stake one-shot admissions test a form of educational apartheid. They were supported by Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew, but once again the campaign failed because of deeply entrenched political opposition.

In 1995 the city opened a Specialized High Schools Institute (SHSI), city-run preparatory program that was supposed to even out performance on the SHSAT and make admissions to the specialized high schools fairer, however with the plethora of private tutoring agencies it failed to improve ethnic balance at the schools.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/8/2/1785290/-New-York-Specialized-High-School-Admission-Policies-Have-Changed-Over-the-Years