A vote on a contract with the company that administers entrance exams for New York City's elite vocational high schools has been delayed, raising concerns that the exams won't be held next year and could hinder children already preparing for them. is increasing.
The Education Policy Panel, an advisory committee to the city's Department of Education, was scheduled to vote on a new contract with NCS Pearson on Wednesday after the original decision was postponed to October.
But it has now been postponed until at least December, when a city council meeting will be held on the issue. Chalkbeat reported.
More than 2,500 parents signed a letter this week asking PEP to approve the nearly six-year, $17 million contract and avoid disrupting the already complicated admissions process.
A letter from parent organization PLACE NYC warned that “unless the contract with Pearson is approved, testing cannot be conducted through other means.”
Under New York State law, the Special High School Entrance Examination is the sole criterion for admission to eight of the city's nine special high schools, which enroll more than 16,000 students.
DOE records show Pearson has been conducting this test since 1983, but few vendors can provide the test.
“The SHSAT is the last vestige of New York City's once admired and respected public education system,” a parent of a seventh-grader in Queens told the Post. “This system has produced legions of scholars, noble laureates, business leaders, authors, and playwrights at a time when merit was the litmus test on which performance was based.”
The PEP is made up of five people appointed by the ward mayor, five people appointed by the local education council president, 13 members appointed by the mayor, and an independent chairperson.
His management responsibilities include approving contracts in excess of $1 million annually.
Two mayoral-appointed seats remain vacant, and it is unclear whether there will be a majority to approve the pilot contract, which has been criticized as racially biased.
Efforts to phase out the SHSAT have failed, but an impending town hall could reignite discussions and proposals for admissions reform.
Mayor Adams has suggested building new vocational high schools in each ward.
“We hope the mayor will make the SHSAT available to the 30,000 students who look forward to the opportunity to take the test,” said PLACE, which represents Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education. said Iatin Chu, co-chair of NYC.
Eighth and ninth graders have been preparing for their exams for years and devoting significant energy and resources to it, the Citywide High School Council argued in a resolution passed last week.
“Students' efforts should be recognized and entrance exams should be respected.''
Pearson was chosen over just one other vendor for its “smooth, intuitive and innovative testing platform,” according to DOE documents.
It also lowered prices and offered plans to digitize the SHSAT.
