School Chancellor Harvey B. Scribner announced last night that he would soon appoint a broad‐based committee to examine all the admission policies and procedures of the city’s four specialized academic high schools.
The high schools, all of which require a special entrance examination, are Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Technical and the Nigh School of Music and Art.
The tests, especially those for the three more technical schools, have been the subject of recent criticism that they discriminate culturally against blacks and Puerto Ricans.
On Jan. 21 Alfredo Mathew Jr., superintendent of School District 3 in Manhattan, charged that the exams for Bronx Science worked to “screen out” black and Puerto Rican students, and he asked Dr. Scribner to move against such policies.
No Immediate Changes
In a four‐page reply last night, Dr. Scribner told Mr. Mathew that after investigation and careful consideration: “I do not believe that it is possible for me to make a determination to change existing policies. I have discovered enough, however, to raise serious questions with reference to admissions policies in all our specialized high schools.”
And he said he would, therefore, appoint a committee to examine the present admissions procedures and to make “appropriate recommendations.”