SHSAT Sunset

gifted-and-talented

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

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    A 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…

  • To integrate specialized high schools, are gifted programs part of the problem or the solution?

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    “We’re working to raise the bar for all kids,” Carranza said in a statement to Chalkbeat. “We also have to think about access and barriers to entry, and that includes whether we’re creating unnecessary barriers by tracking students at the age of 4 or 5 years old based on a single test.” https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2018/07/17/to-integrate-specialized-high-schools-are-gifted-programs-part-of-the-problem-or-the-solution/

  • Why Gifted and Talented Schools are the Wrong Approach: To diversify schools, reimagine G&T: A bill to expand segregated programs moves in exactly the wrong direction

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    But we’ve already tried this, and it didn’t work. Back in 2009, Mayor Bloomberg tried to expand gifted programs and switched from multiple measures to a single test score for gifted admission. The result was actually more segregation, and reduced access for black and Latino students: The percentage of black and Latino students entering such programs in kindergarten was cut…

  • Exam High Schools and Academic Achievement: Evidence from New York City

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    Publicly funded exam schools educate many of the world’s most talented students. These schools typically contain higher achieving peers, more rigorous instruction, and additional resources compared to regular public schools. This paper uses a sharp discontinuity in the admissions process at three prominent exam schools in New York City to provide the first causal estimate…

  • In a wide-ranging interview, Carranza takes issue with admissions to New York City’s gifted programs

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    Chancellor Richard Carranza in a wide-ranging interview with Chalkbeat. “There is no body of knowledge that I know of that has pointed to the fact that you can give a test to a 4-year-old or a 5-year-old and determine if they’re gifted,” he said. “Those tests — and it’s pretty clear — are more a…

  • 2 Ideals at Issue

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    Many teachers and principals are convinced that there should be ability grouping for the good of the most able and the least able students. But often these same educators are uneasy over the racial isolation that often results. This has put some programs for bright students on shaky ground. Classes for gifted children are being…

  • Gifted Grade Schoolers To Get Special Instruction

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    This is where NYC’s infamous Gifted & Talented program all started. The city school system will get its first program for teaching gifted elementary ‐school children this fall, following a vote to set up the program by’ the central Board of Education last night. A grant of $60,000 from the Vincent Astor Foundation will finance…