Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter called for an end to the
specialized high school entrance exam Thursday while fuming
about new admissions data that showed Asians dominating the
controversial test once again.

Citing the minimal number of offers to black and Hispanic
students, Ross-Porter called the current single-test entry
format �unacceptable.�

Asians comprised 53.7 percent of those admitted, whites 27.9,
Hispanics 5.4, and African Americans 3.6.

�I know from my 21 years as an educator that far more students
could thrive in our Specialized High Schools, if only given the
chance,� she said in a statement accompanying the results.
�Instead, the continued use of the Specialized High School
Admissions Test will produce the same unacceptable results over
and over again, and it�s far past the time for our students to
be fairly represented in these schools.�

But backers of the existing format � especially those
representing Asian city groups � blasted Ross-Porter�s
characterization.

�What is unacceptable is the targeting of one particular group,�
said activist Wai Wah Chin. �Especially with what we see
happening on the streets of this city. What is unacceptable is
telling Asians that they don�t belong in these schools despite
their hard work.�

Critics of the exam call it a narrow measure of student
potential and argue that additional metrics should be introduced
into the admissions process.

They also contend that the single-test system benefits families
of means with superior exam preparation resources.

Ross-Porter�s predecessor, Richard Carranza, unsuccessfully
pushed to overhaul the current format along with Mayor Bill de
Blasio in 2019.

While 70 percent of all city students are black and Hispanic,
they only accounted for 9.4 percent of specialized high school
acceptances for next year.

Kaliris Salas-Ramirez of Community Education Council 4 said the
exam should be scrapped, asserting that it promoted an outdated
reliance on standardized tests to measure talent.

She also argued that most Asian applicants do not gain
admittance through the test and that the format �perpetuates a
system that disenfranchises the Asian community.�

Test backers assert that it�s a colorblind measure that has
forged some of the most academically renowned schools in the
country.

Others also note that many of the immigrant Asian groups that
predominate at the eight schools come from low-income
backgrounds rather than privilege.

At Stuyvesant High School, considered the city�s premier
academic bastion, Asians made up 65 percent of new offers.
Whites were second at 20 percent and Hispanics 2.7 percent.

Only eight of 749 offers � or 1 percent � went to black
students, according to DOE data.

Ross-Porter asserted that Albany should rescind the law that
mandates the test.

�The State law that requires the City to administer the exam
must be repealed so we can partner with our communities to find
a more equitable way forward, and do right by all of our
children,� she said.

Some have called for the outright abolition of the exam while
others have suggested combining it with other measures.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education said a glitch made it
impossible for some parents to open up admissions emails
Thursday and that they were working to fix the issue.

�This has been tortuous enough,� said one applicant�s mom. �It
never ends. You would think they could at least get the email
right.�

https://nypost.com/2021/04/29/nyc-schools-chancellor-calls-for-
end-to-elite-school-test/
�

On Mon, 3 May 2021 14:04:53 +0200 (CEST), "That Idiot Biden"
<epstein@clintonfoundation.org> wrote:

>Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter called for an end to the
>specialized high school entrance exam Thursday while fuming
>about new admissions data that showed Asians dominating the
>controversial test once again.

Gee, how DARE people who PUT IN THE EFFORT
do better !!!!!!

Kurt Vonnegut wrote a little short story about "equity",
in the 50s. Worth reading. Will sound VERY familiar.