multiple-measures
-
Stop relying on just one test: Mayor de Blasio is right to try to want to turn away from the SHSAT high school admissions exam
· opinionI was the valedictorian of my eighth-grade class and earned a special honor for never missing a day of school, but that wasn’t enough to help me, or others like me, gain admission into schools like American Studies. Instead, a single specialty test was used to gauge my intelligence, work ethic and worthiness. The mayor’s…
-
Test prep is a rite of passage for many Asian-Americans
· nonshsatNon-SHSAT article that discusses the intersection of culture and single-measure testing. Related to the Harvard case, test scores for all students should be considered with a grain of salt. Yes, high scores are impressive, but they should be understood in the context of opportunity. It’s also important to note that strong scores are the norm…
-
Overemphasizing a Test, Oversimplifying Our Children: An APA Perspective on Specialized High School Reform towards Educational Equity
The SHSAT is misperceived as an objective, and “colorblind” tool to measure merit. However, an expansive body of research reveals that school screening policies that do not consider race or socioeconomic status do not reduce, but rather contribute to further “stratification by race and ethnicity across schools and programs.” […] In the field of testing,…
-
Highly skilled black, Latino students face admission barriers to exam schools, study finds
· researchBlack and Latino students who do as well as their white and Asian peers on the MCAS exam nonetheless have a much lower chance of being admitted to Boston Latin School and the city’s two other exam schools, according to a Harvard report being released Tuesday. Their path is hindered by a separate test —…
-
Hey DOE: Revamp the SHSAT The current exam doesn’t accurately measure ability
· opinionPart of the reason for this disparity is that many kids don’t find out about specialized high schools and the SHSAT early enough, if at all. “In my middle school, my class didn’t know there was an SHSAT. We were considered the dumb class because we didn’t test well in elementary,” says Angie, currently a…
-
Closing gap at specialized high schools
· opinionUltimately, the city has to do more to improve educational opportunities for everyone, not just the admission process to the top schools. More middle schools need to be high-achieving ones, more gifted programs are needed in the younger grades, and the city should add more specialized high schools, too. There’s no guarantee that the city’s…
-
Why I Support Multiple Measures of Admission to New York’s Specialized High Schools
· opinionFirst, I support multiple measures of evaluation for colleges, jobs, sports teams and anything else I can think of, why should I support a single test as the sole standard of admission to specialized high schools. Secondly, at a time when more and more colleges are becoming SAT/ACT Optional, it is in no one’s interest,…
-
Best schools shouldn’t be determined by a test
· opinionKaplan Inc., is probably one of the most famous companies students turn to when they need help taking a test. Their preparation courses for tests like the SAT and ACT are part of an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars (if not in the billions). In fact, the company offers a prep course starting…
-
Brooklyn President Eric Adams states his SHSAT position
· opinionI believe Eric Adams wanted to do the right thing with the SHSAT exam. He understands how detrimental it is, but ultimately didn’t think it was worth the fight. we have to meet the demand of highly capable candidates who want a specialized high school seat by expanding seats overall. I am expanding on my…
-
Educators For Excellence: Open Letter to Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza on Desegregating NYC Schools
· opinionOpponents of school desegregation argued in 1977 that “either we have to lower the standards for everybody so the special nature of the schools would disappear, or we would have to allow these students to be subjected to failure.” It is eerie how today’s opponents repeat these same arguments. This argument assumes that black and…