Community News
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Parents, students and elected
officials across Queens
disapprove of Mayor Bill de
Blasio and Department of
Education Chancellor Richard Carranza's
decision to eliminate admissions
testing to New York City's specialized
public high schools.
On June 3, de Blasio announced
plans to eliminate Specialized High
School Admission Test (SHSAT). Currently,
prospective students for the
eight specialized public high schools
must take the SHSAT, which is the
sole exam required for entry.
The mayor said that the current system
prevents black and Hispanic students
from getting into these elite schools.
SPECIALIZED
SCHOOL WOES
In an op-ed for Chalkbeat, he said that
the demographics in the eight elite high
schools are not reflective of the demographics
in the public school system as a
whole. Currently 70 percent of students
in public school are black and Hispanic,
while only 10 percent of students in specialized
schools are black and Hispanic.
De Blasio's plan would eliminate the
test entirely, while saving 45 percent
of the 5,000 available seats for black
and Hispanic students. The plan would
be implemented throughout the eight
official specialized high schools in New
York City: Bronx High School of Science,
Brooklyn Latin School, Brooklyn
Technical High School, High School for
Math, Science and Engineering at City
College, High School for American Studies
at Lehman College, Queens High
26 JUNE 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
School for Sciences at York College,
Staten Island Technical High School
and Stuyvesant High School.
Councilman Peter Koo from Queens
District 20 expressed his dissatisfaction
with the mayor's plan.
“Weakening the admissions criteria
for schools that are selectively designed
for academically gifted students is counterintuitive
and works against the original
intent of specialized high schools. A test
that focuses on such empirically unbiased
subjects like math, logic and reading
comprehension cannot be blamed
for failing at diversity. If the city were
truly concerned about diversifying these
schools, it would do more to provide
opportunities for robust testing prep in
underrepresented schools," Koo said.
Other officials shared Koo's sentiment.
Councilman Robert F. Holden
from Queens District 30 said that he
"wholeheartedly disagreed" with the
mayor's decision.
"The mayor is taking a system that is
race-blind and turning it into a discrimination
issue. Right now, students are
selected based solely on test results.
I think that's how the system should
work," Holden said.
Adam Gawronski of Ridgewood has
two children in specialized public high
schools. His son Philip goes to Brooklyn
Tech and his daughter Camilla goes to
Stuyvesant. Gawronski and his son said
that eliminating the test will lower the
standards of the prestigious schools
while allowing students to be admitted
based on qualities like charm, instead
of hard work and dedication.
Photo via Flickr/Kevin Case
The mayor is taking a system that is race-blind and turning it into a
discrimination issue. Right now, students are selected based solely
on test results. I think that's how the system should work,"
ROBERT F. HOLDEN
Councilman
/www.qns.com
