New York City’s Specialized High School Discovery Program is a Step in the Right Direction But is Not Enough

The SHSAT Single-Test Must Be Reformed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 11th, 2019

New York -New York City's schools are the most segregated schools in the entire nation and the City's specialized high schools are no exceptions, even with the addition and expansion of the Discovery program. The Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is a single-measure admissions’ policy that perpetuates the segregation. Current efforts at improving diversity include the Discovery Program.

However, as seen by today's Discovery program announcement, we need a much bolder and more effective plan for integration. Black student enrollment increased by 109 seats and Latinx student enrollment by 169 seats. This brings the total percent of Black students who received offers to specialized high schools at 5.2% and Latinx students at 8.5%.

For Asian Pacific American students in the system, the Discovery Program did not limit the number of seats as argued by plaintiffs suing the City for the expansion of Discovery. In fact, the number of seats offered to Asian Pacific American students increased by 498 seats, and we hope it has added to the diversity of neighborhoods from where our Asian Pacific American students come.

The Discovery Program is a small step towards change, but falls grossly short in its ability to truly support integration because of its heavy reliance on one imperfect measure.

The Discovery Program, which offers admissions to low-income students who score just under the cut off score, would be expanded to 20% of seats at each specialized high school by 2020. In addition, the expansion targets students from high poverty schools across the City. Now that Discovery is an official mandate, schools are unable to elect out of the Discovery Program, as Stuyvesant High School, The Bronx High School of Science, and High School of American Studies at Lehman College have done in the past.

"The Discovery Program is limited in its ability to bring diversity to the specialized high schools. Integration and equity in education benefits all students, including APA students. Research is showing greater racial diversity in education exhibits smaller test score gaps between students," said Anita Gundanna, Co-Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.

Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, said, "Racially inclusive and representative education cultivates an increasingly positive and healthier learning environment for students. We are doing our children a disservice if we do not work towards greater integration in our schools."

SHSAT is a single-measure test that limits the specialized high schools’ ability to create integrated, high performing schools. Even with the implementation of the Discovery Program, we still call for the need to reform the specialized high school admissions policy.