Forum on diversity in specialized high schools favors ‘objective’ admissions exam
A Friday night forum on diversity in schools and the fate of the Specialized High School Admissions Test made clear how a bulk of southern Brooklyn parents and educators feel about the mayor’s proposal to eliminate the exam.
The event, hosted by State Sens. Andrew Gounardes, John Liu and Robert Jackson, packed the I.S. 201 auditorium in Dyker Heights where, for two hours at the start of the weekend, parents, educators and even kids testified primarily in favor of the test.
The SHSAT is currently administered to eighth- and ninth-grade students in order to determine admission to all but one of the city’s specialized high schools. Of the nine elite high schools in the New York City public schools system, eight use the SHSAT as the sole criteria for admission.