New NYC high school admission process to reward hard work, reversing pandemic policy: chancellor
A new admission policy that rewards students for classroom success was unveiled Thursday by New York City’s schools chancellor, who reversed a moratorium aimed at diversifying some of the city’s most elite programs.
Under the new rules, eighth graders from across the five boroughs with course grades in the top 15% of their class last year will get the first shot at seats at some of New York City’s most selective high schools, Chancellor David Banks said.
Meanwhile, middle schools will once again be allowed to screen students based on grades and other factors for the first time in two years, Banks said.
“Today, I present changes that take steps toward streamlining our policies, promoting transparency, and making it easier for families to find the right school for their child,” Banks said. “One fundamental challenge is we need more schools and programs that provide all that students and families are seeking.”
The policies are a shift from a post-pandemic approach aimed at integrating one of the most segregated school systems in the country.
Under the plan in place since 2019, schools used a more selective approach designed to increased the number of Black, Latino and low-income students admitted to some of the city’s most elite schools.
But Banks, who announced the changes at the Department of Education’s headquarters across from City Hall in Manhattan, said the new approach strikes a balance between increasing access to historically locked out communities and rewarding hard-working middle school students.
Admissions to middle schools will be determined by the individual community school district, Banks said.
Specialized high schools will continue to use the Specialized High School Admissions Test, as mandated by law.
In addition, three new “academically accelerated” high schools will be opened in the South Bronx, Ocean Hill-Brownsville and in southeast Queens by the fall of 2024.
In 2020, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the segregation issues had been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, and pressed pause on the traditional screening process.
