Overemphasizing a Test, Oversimplifying Our Children: An APA Perspective on Specialized High School Reform towards Educational Equity (2018)

CACF’s brief includes SHSAT and the history of segregation in NYC public schools, an overview of proposed NYC and NYS reforms, CACF’s recommendations on SHSAT and beyond, and first person perspectives from specialized high school alumni.

For years, education advocates and researchers have argued that the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) as the only measure for admissions into the City’s most coveted public high schools is unfair and poses a major barrier to diversity in those schools. Diversity in schools includes race as well as socioeconomic status, culture, gender, sexuality, religion, differing abilities, language, and all other categories under the Dignity for All Students Act. Ultimately, integrated schools would not only reflect the diversity of our City, but also would provide inclusive and equitable learning environments that embrace and support the full participation of all students. 

New York’s schools are some of the most segregated schools in the entire nation. The City’s specialized high schools are a severe reflection of this segregation, and maintaining the single exam perpetuates that segregation. In order for New York City schools to move towards providing a more inclusive and equitable education for all, the City must address inequitable admissions policies and practices for its specialized high schools. 

As the nation’s only pan-Asian policy advocacy organization for children and families, CACF has a responsibility to the Asian Pacific American (APA) community to advocate for educational policies and practices that are fair and beneficial to all APA students, including and especially those most marginalized. We believe that current admissions processes to specialized high schools contribute to the problems of segregation and inequity in NYC public schools. CACF stands in support of eliminating the SHSAT (or any single test) as the sole measure for gaining admission to New York City’s specialized public high schools. CACF supports shifting to the utilization of multiple measures in any school admissions process. 

As a single determinant for admissions to the specialized high schools, the current exam is not only shown to be an invalid admissions measure, but it is also discriminatory and detrimental to the long-term success of all students, including APA students.