Only 7 Black Students Got Into N.Y.'s Most Selective High School, Out of 895 Spots

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Only a tiny number of black students were offered admission to the highly selective public high schools in New York City on Monday, raising the pressure on officials to confront the decades-old challenge of integrating New York’s elite public schools.

At Stuyvesant High School, out of 895 slots in the freshman class, only seven were offered to black students. And the number of black students is shrinking: There were 10 black students admitted into Stuyvesant last year, and 13 the year before.

Another highly selective specialized school, the Bronx High School of Science, made 12 offers to black students this year, down from 25 last year.

These numbers come despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s vow to diversify the specialized high schools, which have long been seen as a ticket for low-income and immigrant students to enter the nation’s best colleges and embark on successful careers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/only-7-black-students-got-into-nys-most-selective-high-school-out-of-895-spots/ar-BBUW8DG?li=BBnb7Kz

[lapucelle]

1. The school has 81% minority enrollment.

It's complicated.

[MadDAsHell]

2. I guess it's those racist Asians.

[lapucelle]

4. There's a standardized entrance exam.

Last edited Mon Mar 18, 2019, 09:45 PM - Edit history (1)

You can read up on all the issues here:
https://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/stuyvesant-high-school

[Jim__]

6. Did you post the wrong link?

I am interested in reading up on the issues.

[lapucelle]

7. That was a link to the NYS Department of Education

I was giving a citation for the data.

As I posted above, if you want to read up on the issues, here's a link to an archive of recent New York Times stories and op-eds.

I'm not defending the demographics, just pointing out that it's a complicated issue here in NY.

https://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/stuyvesant-high-school

[Jim__]

8. I agree that it's a complicated issue - thanks for the new link.

I'll read those articles.

[lapucelle]

10. I did post the wrong link! Sorry.

https://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/stuyvesant-high-school

[Jim__]

11. No problem.

[lapucelle]

3. From the NYSED data for 2015-2016

https://data.nysed.gov/enrollment.php?year=2016&instid=800000046741

[musette_sf]

5. There are now "cram schools" for these schools' entrance exams

that cost thousands to attend.

A quote from a Stuyvesant student who attended cram school: "After a prep class and some tutoring sessions... I knew all the tricks. If I hadn’t had access to that class, I likely would not have gotten into Stuy."

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-nix-this-admissions-test-20180607-story.html

[lapucelle]

9. Kaplan has been running a cram course for Stuy-Hi for decades.

On the face of it, entrance selection seems like a meritocracy because the sole criterion is a standardized test.

Of course, kids whose parents exercise economic privilege and/or who live in neighborhoods in better school districts have a clear advantage in doing well on the test.

Asian-American is the majority demographic at Stuyvesant. That skews the diversity factor because technically the school is majority-minority. Asian-American community leaders and parents are fighting to keep entrance selection the way it currently stands.

It's a thorny issue here.

[Yavin4]

12. Competitive education damages our children and our nation

We have reduced education to a sport. Just like there are parents that pay for coaching so that their kids can develop athletic skills, some parents pay for tutoring/test prep sessions and the like to get their kids into the best schools.

Education is necessary for a functioning democracy. Limiting it to people who score well on tests does great damage to our democracy. The "educated elite" will use their status to confer privileges on their class at the expense of everyone else.

[George II]

13. Late to the party on this (lost track of it after it was posted), was reminded...

...because we were talking about Stuyvesant High School at a family dinner yesterday afternoon.

Admission to Stuyvesant High School (as well as the Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School) is based solely on results of a battery of tests similar to the SAT or the old "Iowa Tests" that were conducted decades ago.

No one knows the race, religion, or background of any of the students when they're accepted.

I attended in the late 1960s (that's what brought it up yesterday, we were talking about Jerrold Nadler, who was in my class). At that time enrollment was about 95% Jewish, with a few blacks and Asians and non-Jewish white students. It was also an all-male school at that time. I had one black student in my home room class, who was brilliant and a very good basketball player. He went on to be a Rhodes Scholar and was ultimately drafted by the NY Knicks.

As the demographics of the city evolved and they admitted females, too, the student body changed too. Now it's about 90% Asian.

They shouldn't try to artificially "diversify" the high schools, they should promote them better and make sure every Junior High School student in the city is aware of their existence. I only found out about Stuyvesant almost by accident, and I'm glad they did.