SHSAT Sunset

Tag: uft

  • The System that Segregated NYC Schools

    Although the mayor’s proposal is modest, opposition to it has been enormous. Opponents defend wholeheartedly the use of the SHSAT. It’s their belief that this high-stakes exam is objective, merit-based, and fair. This opposition movement is largely backed by lobbyist groups funded by CEOs, and alumni associations with deep pockets. Its ranks also include self-described progressives such as Jumanee Williams, alumnus of the specialized school system and current New York City Public Advocate. Instead of scrapping the SHSAT, they believe the city should instead expand access to the exam, invest in SHSAT preparation services, and open more SHS.

    At some point it must be asked more generally: Why expend all this effort preserving an exam whose validity and legitimacy are dubious? There are better predictors of SHS performance—such as middle school grades, or scores from state exams (for which preparation is universally built into the curriculum and, unlike the SHSAT, are taken during school hours). These alternatives would satisfy SHSAT defenders’ own requirements for admissions based on academic merit. But they oppose them—because it’s really not about defending objectivity, but protecting the most privileged routes to the SHS that exist because of the SHSAT.

    https://morecaucusnyc.org/2020/01/12/the-system-that-segregated-nyc-schools/

  • Testimony regarding segregation in New York City public schools

    UFT opposes single measure admissions
    The union is on record criticizing and challenging the validity of a single test as the sole criteria for high stakes decisions – such as entrance to early elementary gifted and talented programs or specialized high schools. The proponents of these standardized tests for entrance to competitive screened schools allege the tests are a reliable, objective measure that reinforce the schools’ success and set the standard for academic achievement; ultimately, it’s not broke, so no need to fix it. We respectfully and vehemently disagree. Our prior 2014 testimony citing the Education Policy Research Institute at Arizona State University’s report, “High Stakes, But Low Validity,” and the American Educational Research Association’s 2012 qualitative research, challenged the wisdom of a sole measure for admitting students in specialized high schools, plus revealed the most competitive educational institutions determine academic merit using formulas comprised of multiple academic measures, among which the most highly valued variable is exceptional talent.


    The UFT believes admission to the specialized high schools must be changed to a system of multiple measures. This is not news. We urge the City Council to revisit our recommendations contained within our union task force’s 2014 report called “Redefining High Performance for Entrance Into Specialized High Schools — Making the Case for Change.” (4) That same standard, multiple indicators to assess a student’s academic standing, must be applied across the board – so a single test does not determine access to gifted and talented programs, middle schools or the specialized high schools. The UFT opposes creating additional specialized high schools where admission is based on a single test. The UFT supports admission programs based on multiple measures that capture a year of a student’s growth and ability.

    http://www.uft.org/testimony/testimony-regarding-segregation-new-york-city-public-schools

  • Union chief says de Blasio’s plan to scrap the SHSAT is going nowhere in Albany

    It seems unlikely that Bill A10427 will succeed, according to Michael Mulgrew.  This has been our assumption from the beginning as well.

    “I don’t believe at this point in time it can pass in the next legislative session because it has been so highly politicized,” Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said during a panel discussion hosted by City & State and moderated by Chalkbeat.

    Mulgrew’s comments underscore the challenge ahead for de Blasio’s plan, which calls for eliminating the single test that determines admission at eight of the city’s top high schools and instead admitting the top 7 percent of students at every middle school across the city. At three of those high schools — Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, and Bronx Science — state law mandates the use of a single exam for admission. (The legislative session begins in January.)

    https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2018/08/23/michael-mulgrew-shsat-bill-de-blasio-albany/

  • UFT: The Specialized High School Controversy is a Political Sideshow

    UFT Michael Mulgrew’s opinion

    The United Federation of Teachers has made repeated suggestions for improving the admission process in the “exam” schools, including using multiple measures and prioritizing the highest-level performers from every middle school.

    But however that debate turns out, the real focus of the DOE and our local political leaders should be on the academic segregation described in the Parthenon Report, a problem that the education bureaucracy and political leaders have largely ignored.

    https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/education/specialized-high-school-controversy-political-sideshow.html

  • Lawmakers, teachers union push to change elite high schools’ admission process, boost diversity

    State lawmakers, city officials and the teachers union have teamed in a fresh push to increase diversity at the city’s elite public high schools by overhauling their admissions process.

    Critics say the current state-mandated system relying on test scores from a single exam — which is used at Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and five other specialized schools — is outdated and discriminates against black and Hispanic kids.

    Teachers union President Michael Mulgrew joined lawmakers at the union headquarters in downtown Manhattan Monday to unveil a bill that would allow the city to also consider grade point average and other factors.

    https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/pols-shake-hs-admissions-boost-diversity-article-1.1823183