Parents, lawmakers call for continuation of Specialized
High School Admissions Test during Bayside rally
BY JACOB KAYE
Parents, advocates and
elected officials gathered
outside of Nathaniel Hawthorne
Middle School in Bayside
on Thursday, Nov. 12, to
demand students be given
the opportunity to take the
Specialized High School Admissions
Test (SHSAT), after
the timeline for the exam
was thrown into flux by
Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza earlier this year.
“In September, we were
repeatedly assured that by
October they would tell us
that the Department of Education
would announce what
the rules are, what the admission
criteria would be
for entry admissions in the
fall of 2021. Guess what? It’s
November and we still don’t
know anything,” State Senator
John Liu said.
Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza, a notable
critic of the SHSAT, delayed
the test, as well as the entire
process for applying to specialized
high schools earlier
this year due to COVID-19.
The original deadline to
register for specialized high
school admission was on Oct.
21 and the original deadline
to apply to the city’s eight
specialized high schools was
Dec. 4. Not only have both
deadlines been changed, but
neither of the processes have
even been opened.
The DOE hasn’t offered a
renewed timeline to parents,
schools or students.
“For the past eight
months, hundreds of thousands
of parents and kids
have been waiting anxiously
for the Department of Education
to announce the details
on the admissions of high
schools and specialized high
schools and they are also
waiting to sign up for the
testing for the Gifted and
Talented program,” said Phil
Wong, president of the Chinese
American Citizens Alliance
of Greater New York.
“When parents attempted
to register for these information
sessions, when they
visited the link, they were
horrified to see a window informing
them that those sessions
have been postponed
until further notice. Meanwhile
there is not a word
on any dates on how to sign
up for Gifted and Talented
testing.”
Liu said he recognizes
the pressure and logistical
nightmare the DOE faces in
trying to implement the test,
which approximately 30,000
students take each year.
“We’ve been dealing with
2020, all the parents have
been dealing with it trying
to make sure their kids
get the proper education all
the while balancing their
workdays,” Liu said. “The
Department of Education,
I’ll give them a little bit of
TIMESLEDGER |26 QNS.COM | NOV. 20-NOV. 26, 2020
credit for trying to figure
out how to deal with a worldwide
pandemic right here in
the city.”
The test, which four of
the specialized high schools
must use to for admissions
in accordance with state
law, has been the cause of
conflict for years now.
Opponents of the test, including
Carranza and Mayor
Bill de Blasio, argue it widens
the education gap between
low-income Black
and brown students and
their peers. Students with
access to more resources at a
younger age perform better
on the test and then gain access
to even more resources
while attending the specialized
high schools, they say.
While no timeline on specialized
high school admissions
been given, the DOE
has created an email list,
where parents and students
can receive updates.
“We appreciate your patience
and will update this
page with more detailed information
and timelines as
soon as we can,” the DOE’s
website reads.
Additional reporting by
Dean Moses.
Photos by Dean Moses
/QNS.COM
