Plan to computerize admission test to specialized schools meets pushback on price tag, equity issues

November 25, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE — The push to computerize the admissions test for the city’s specialized high schools has revived a debate on equity, reported the Daily News on Sunday, Nov. 24. A vote on a decision to switch to a computerized version of this exam, the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), has been delayed twice this fall. Chalkbeat reported on November 15 that the city’s Panel for Educational Policy has now pushed back the vote to December in order to allow for a public comment period and a town hall meeting, which hasn’t yet been scheduled.

Chalkbeat in October reported the possibility that the traditional paper version of the SHSAT would end after the current academic year, with educational testing giant Pearson implementing a computerized model. The state law-mandated test is currently the only standard for admission to secondary schools such as Brooklyn Latin (whose curriculum focuses on the classics: Latin, Greek, oratory and geometry) and Brooklyn Tech.

Admissions to the specialized high schools have long generated questions about equity. While Black and Hispanic students comprised 46% of test takers who sat for the SHSAT, this group received only 12% of the specialized school offers. Meanwhile, Asian families worry that eliminating the test altogether would hurt their chances of getting accepted.

In part, the education panel balked at the $17 million price that testing giant Pearson wants to charge; that comes to about $3.8 million annually.

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