Declining acceptance rates for Black and Hispanic students at NYC’s top public schools spotlight ongoing debates over standardized testing and educational equity.
For generations, standardized tests like the SATs and ACTs have loomed over students’ futures, with scores often carrying the weight of college dreams and career ambitions. But in New York City, the pressure begins even earlier. Here, thousands of eighth-graders pin their hopes on another high-stakes exam: The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, or SHSAT. In the eyes of many families, this one exam is less of a test and more of a key–or a lock–to not only the next four years, but their future.
With the SHSAT being the sole criterion for admission to New York City’s “Elite Eight” schools, recent news has stirred unrest in the community about standardized testing: Black students received just 3 percent of offers, while Hispanic students received only 7 percent.
The Crown Jewels of New York City’s Public Schools
Featuring cutting-edge advanced research, rigorous college-level coursework, a wealth of extracurricular offerings, and a legacy of illustrious alumni, New York City’s eight specialized public high schools stand out as some of the most high-performing secondary institutions in the nation.
For many eighth graders, these specialized schools represent a dream, offering unparalleled resources and invaluable connections. Nearly 20% of their graduates go on to attend top 25 universities, underscoring the unique opportunities these schools provide.
The “Elite Eight” schools are Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Latin School, Brooklyn Technical High School, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, High School for Math, Science, and Engineering at CCNY, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, Staten Island Technical High School, and Stuyvesant High School.
Once admitted, students enter an intensely competitive academic environment. Often, students take multiple AP (Advanced Placement) courses and have extracurricular activities outside of school, making them stand out during the college admissions process. At Stuyvesant High School, for instance, the average SAT score hovers around 1500, and the average ACT score is an impressive 33, putting the school as a whole in the uppermost percentile.
To first get in, however, students must be the best of the best in their middle schools, competing with thousands of other NYC students for a spot.
When Opportunity Hinges on a Single Number
With these schools’ prestige comes a challenging admissions process. Every year, 26,000 of New York City’s eighth-grade students take the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) in hopes of getting an acceptance letter in the spring.
To prepare, eighth graders spend their summer break and free time studying for the SHSAT, with some students even starting their studying years before.
Given the significance of a number determining one’s fate for four years, preparation is often tedious and difficult.
Hao Diep, an alumnus of the Bronx High School for Science, talked about the air of competitiveness in the months leading up to the examination and said, “People took mock exams and compared scores, sparking a competitive drive even though there were no prizes to be had at the end.”
Based solely on a single entrance exam score of students’ mastery of English and Math, the schools then decide on acceptances.
Last year, out of the tens of thousands of eighth-graders who took the exam, only approximately 4,000 students ultimately received admission.
In an even more astonishing statistic, though Black and Latino students made up more than 44% of all test takers, their percentages in the “Elite Eight” were each less than 10% of the overall student population.
Not only was a consistent decrease in Black and Hispanic student admissions a pattern, but a similar trend existed with Bronx High School of Science. Out of 738 admitted students, only 76 offers went out to students of these racial backgrounds. Such a drop was massive compared to the year prior; there were 97 offers made towards these students.
Standardized Testing Within a Wider Web of Inequality
Due to the intense pressure placed on students to score in the top percentile on the SHSAT and the competitive acceptance rates at New York City’s public high schools, many critics have drawn parallels between the SHSAT, SAT, and ACT, questioning their reliability as true measures of academic success.
Black and Latino families have historically made up a disproportionate percentage of low-income households in the United States compared to other ethnic groups, raising important questions about how standardized testing reflects income inequality and the unequal access to test preparation resources that many students face.
The intense competitiveness of these exams is fueled by an expensive prep culture, which often turns success into a matter of who can afford the most resources rather than who possesses the raw talent and academic ability to excel.
A parent and member of the Community Education Council, which has criticized the SHSAT in the past, said, “It’s a system that will always reward those with more resources, forcing disadvantaged students to pay a burdensome, regressive tax to test prep.”
Test prep has increasingly become a norm among students nationwide, whether it be for the SAT or ACT (or the SHSAT for NYC students), for children to obtain high scores. With this preparation, however, come lofty prices that not every family can pay.
On average, the vast majority of quality ACT and SAT classes range from $600 to over $3,000 for a full program. Therefore, before students even enter the testing room, there is a stark difference in the preparation they may have received leading up to the test.
Not only is test preparation a major issue for students, but the overall inequality from birth to the admissions tests is apparent.
Due to historically low acceptance rates for Black and Hispanic students and a lack of funding for support programs, many of these students feel unmotivated to perform well. Even if they have the potential to excel academically, their abilities often go unrecognized unless they achieve exceptionally high test scores.
As universities bring back standardized testing requirements, these exams can reveal inequalities that are often ignored. For New York City’s “Elite Eight,” reliance on the SHSAT continues to hinder talented Black and Hispanic students due to unequal access to resources.
Until percentages rise for New York City’s public high schools, these schools will continue to reflect the bleak and complex realities of the admissions process.
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