New York City is tightening admissions criteria for selective middle schools that had been relaxed during the pandemic, a change some parents said was unfair, while others hoped would reduce racial disparities.
Middle schools can now go back to using grades and test scores to decide which students to admit, reported The New York Times.
On Thursday Schools Chancellor David Banks unveiled the new policy, which again prioritizes academic achievement when evaluating applicants to some of the city’s most selective public high schools.
“We believe in high standards,” Banks said at a press conference, quoted by New York Post. “We believe that academically talented students are achieving at high levels in schools across the city.”
It is a change from the policies adopted when Bill de Blasio was mayor, which attracted more low-income students to some of the most elite public schools in the city. The random lottery for middle schools will now end.
At competitive high schools, students with A averages will have priority. The lotteries drew criticism from Asian-American parents, among others, who said their children missed out on opportunities they had worked hard for.
Those who had applauded de Blasio’s changes said at the time that the Black and Latino students were underrepresented in selective schools, hoping to make them permanent as a way to speed integration.
Those changes did not apply to nine specialized high schools, including Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School, and the most recent measures will not affect them.
Banks, who became school chancellor this year with the arrival of Mayor Eric Adams, said rolling back the policies of the previous administration would increase access for “communities that have historically been excluded from selective schools” while rewarding academically outstanding students.
“It is vital It’s important that if you work hard and get good grades, you don’t get thrown in the lottery with everyone,” said Chancellor Banks.
Your announcement comes as city education officials face multiple crises. State standardized test scores released Wednesday showed that many students had fallen behind during the pandemic, particularly in math.
Furthermore, many Hispanic, black, and low-income students continue to lag behind to their white, Asian and higher-income peers. And enrollment is declining: approximately 400,000 families have left the city’s traditional public schools in the last five years.
It is estimated that a quarter of the approximately 400 city high schools using admissions screens were able to consider metrics like grades during the pandemic. But state test results weren’t factored in, and other changes meant that students who got B’s were grouped together with those who got A’s. That made each student’s lottery number that much more important.
Now, students with A averages in the top 15% of their school , or citywide, will have priority for enrollment, but state testing will not be considered.
“This is a threshold of excellence,” said Banks, adding that “I do not accept the notion” that “black and Latino students do not exceed 90 points”.