A better way to diversify elite schools: Don’t scrap the test, just don’t make it gameable

By Jacob Gross
New York Daily News

Mayor de Blasio and other advocates are right to be concerned about the lack of black and Latino representation in New York’s specialized high schools. The public school system as a whole is about 70% black and Latino, yet students of those backgrounds make up about 10% of the student body in high schools using the SHSAT. At Stuyvesant High School, the city’s most elite, the number drops to under 4%; at Bronx High School of Science, it is 8.7%.

Critics are also right that the current admissions test puts some students at a disadvantage. Using a standardized test gives an unfair edge to families with resources to pay for test prep, rendering false any claims that the SHSAT is wholly merit-based. However, the mayor’s latest proposed solution — granting admission to the top students at each middle school, as determined by grades and state test scores — wholly misses the mark.