Students, parents and supporters are calling on the city to protect the entrance exams for the city's eight elite specialized high schools ahead of a crucial vote next week that will decide whether the exams go ahead.
The Specialized High School Admissions Test is the only admissions criterion used by top schools like Bronx High School of Science. Stuyvesant;Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and others are participating, but the test could be eliminated unless the city's Education Policy Commission approves a new five-year, $17 million contract with education company Pearson.
The agreement is scheduled to be voted on at next week's PEP meeting, after repeated delays. If approved, the exam could be administered digitally, but if rejected, the exam could not be given next year for the 2026 freshman class, according to test promoters.
“If SHSAT [contract] “If it's not renewed, all the seventh graders who want to go to these schools are out of luck,” Phoebe Gerber, a seventh grader at PS 334 on the Upper West Side, said at a public meeting packed with speakers Wednesday. Ta. We will support you in taking the exam.
“I toured many of these specialized high schools and, like many seventh-graders, fell in love with them,” she added.
Supporters of meritocratic testing and admissions procedures say the contract vote is a sign that critics who have woken up to the controversial test, which is legally required for admission to some elite schools, are the final There are concerns that this is a backdoor method to destroy the exam.
Opponents of the test point to the lack of Black and Latino representation within the eight professional schools. Last year, just 4.5% of offers went to black students and 7.6% went to Latino students, according to city data. Others argue that expensive test prep is unaffordable for low-income families.
“The system has always rewarded those with more resources and given underprivileged students access to test prep,” Gavin Healey, a parent and member of Manhattan's 2nd Ward Regional Education Council, said Wednesday. “It's a system that forces people to pay burdensome and regressive taxes.”
Some parents want to maintain the status quo and avoid further disruption to an already complicated admissions process.
“From my perspective, refusing a contract is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute and hoping that a solution will be found before you land,” says Hope Public Schools said Melih Onvral, a parent of three students. In order to enter a prestigious high school.
“Is there a flaw in the system? Yes. Is there a flaw in the contract? Yes,” he added. “But my request to the committee is to separate this contract renewal from the dream of a world without testing.”
said PEP member Tom Shepherd. gothamist He argued that his opposition to the test was a “matter of fairness.”
However, panel chair Gregory Faulkner said, reportedly “I have no problem taking the exam,” he said, adding, “I'm confident the committee will make a good decision.”
At Thursday's town hall, Schools Superintendent Melissa Aviles-Ramos said the SHSAT process was “set by the state and we will continue to abide by it.” According to reports. “If there are any changes in the future, we will abide by them.”
Common sense members of the City Council rallied Thursday to support the new contract.
“Students taking the SHSAT are from hard-working, lower-middle-class families, not wealthy kids who can afford private tutors,” said City Councilwoman Susan Tsang (D-Brooklyn). statement.
“This test is a lifeline for underrepresented and low-income immigrant students to get into the best public high schools in the country,” she said.
Congressman Richie Torres of the Bronx also joined the call.
“I have a simple message for PEP,” he said in a statement. Video posted on X. “Stop politicizing SHSAT, stop polarizing New Yorkers, and start focusing on fundamentally improving the entire system.”
