Specialized High School Offers to Black, Latino Students in NYC See Decline

Specialized High School Admissions Test results for the 2021-2022 school year admissions show offers to the city's Black and Latino students in percentage terms are down over both 2020 and 2019, according to the New York City Department of Education.

This year, 23,528 8th graders took the SHSAT, with a total of 4,262 receiving an offer to a specialized high school based on their exam scores. The percentage of offers for Black and Latino students was 9%, compared to 11% last year and to 10.5% in 2019. Last year, a total of 4,265 students received an offer to a specialized school.

According to the Department of Education, a pandemic-driven decline of about 43,000 students is a contributing factor in the decline of testers. However, the city has seen what it describes as "unacceptable results year-after-year due to the single use of an exam to determine admissions." The city is obligated by State law to administer the SHSAT. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration has consistently called for a new approach alleging that high-potential students face barriers to specialized high schools. 

“I know from my 21 years as an educator that far more students could thrive in our Specialized High Schools, if only given the chance. Instead, the continued use of the Specialized High School Admissions Test will produce the same unacceptable results over and over again, and it’s far past the time for our students to be fairly represented in these schools," NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said in a statement. "The State law that requires the City to administer the exam must be repealed so we can partner with our communities to find a more equitable way forward, and do right by all of our children.”

During the pandemic, the city offered a remote option for the DREAM program, a free afterschool program that prepares students for the SHSAT. This year, about 3,600 students participated in the program as 8th graders, compared to about 4,200 last year, according to the city, which added that this year, 13% of all Black and Latino SHSAT testers were DREAM students, and they received 26% of all Black and Latino specialized high school offers. Additionally, 20% of seats at each of the eight testing specialized high schools will be reserved for students from the Discovery program, a summer enrichment program for students who score below the SHSAT cutoff score.

According to the city's Department of Education, the SHSAT score offers for admissions are as follows:

• Native American: Total testers: 196; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 0.8%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 14; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 0.3%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 7.1%
• Asian: Total testers: 8,167; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 34.7%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 2,288; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 53.7%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 28%
• Black: Total testers: 4,357; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 18.5%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 153; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 3.6%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 3.5%
• Latino: Total testers: 5,357; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 22.8%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 231; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 5.4%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 4.3%
• White: Total testers: 4,336; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 18.4%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 1,188; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 27.9%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 27.4%
• Multi-Racial: Total testers: 427; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 1.8%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 157; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 3.7%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 36.8%
• Unknown: Total testers: 679; Distribution of Testers by Ethnicity: 2.9%; Total Offers by Ethnicity: 231; Distribution of Offers by Ethnicity: 5.4%; Percent of Testers Who Received an Offer by Ethnicity: 34%