Liu: NYC high school acceptance ‘unfair and arbitrary’
DOE disagrees, calls process transparent
City Comptroller John Liu said on Thursday that an audit found that the Department of Education’s (DOE) high school placement process was often arbitrary and unfair, denying seats in highly competitive programs to eligible students while offering seats to other students who were not.
According to the audit, almost 2,000 students applying to five of the city’s most desirable high schools were dropped from consideration, even though they met or surpassed the screening criteria.
“Our audit confirmed what many frustrated parents and students have long suspected: the City’s high school placement process is often unfair and deeply flawed,” Comptroller Liu said. “Applying to high school is an important and stressful enough experience for students and parents, and it must not be left to a sloppy and random system like the one our audit found.”