Specialized Schools

If Grades & Test Scores Are “Better” At Predicting Student Success Why Aren’t Screened Schools “Better” Than Specialized Ones?
Finding the Right School

If Grades & Test Scores Are “Better” At Predicting Student Success Why Aren’t Screened Schools “Better” Than Specialized Ones?

Alina Adams2 Comments

Applications for New York City public schools were originally due today, Monday, December 3. However, last week, the Department of Education announced that they were extending their deadline to turn in your rankings to Friday, December 14. They went out of their way to stress it absolutely was not due to what an unmitigated disaster… Continue reading If Grades & Test Scores Are “Better” At Predicting Student Success Why Aren’t Screened Schools “Better” Than Specialized Ones?

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #3): Whose Fault Is It, Anyway? And Who’s Going To Fix It?
Accountability · School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #3): Whose Fault Is It, Anyway? And Who’s Going To Fix It?

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In Part #1 of our four part series, I dove into the nitty-gritty of the Mayor’s plan to get rid of the SHSAT test in Specialized High School admissions, and speculated about his true motives. In Part #2, I laid out who would win and who would lose when the proposal is codified into law.… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #3): Whose Fault Is It, Anyway? And Who’s Going To Fix It?

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes
Accountability · School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last week, I dove into New York City’s plan to diversity Specialized High School admissions by scratching the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), currently the only method of admission, in favor of a model wherein the top 7 percent of all public middle school students would be accepted at an SHSAT school, as long as… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda
Accountability · Blog · School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

It’s been a hell of a week. On Saturday, June 2, 2018, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio penned an op-ed, asserting that Our Specialized Schools Have a Diversity Problem. Let’s Fix It. On Sunday, June 3, he announced two initiatives to do so. He vowed to expand the Discovery Program so that 20 percent of… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda

Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed
Blog

Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Transfers, a play about two students from the Bronx, one Black, one Hispanic, who are competing for a scholarship at an elite, Massachusetts liberal arts university, was originally developed in the summer of 2016 at Vassar College. But it arrives in New York City in 2018, smack in the middle of a raging controversy about… Continue reading Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed

Is Education a Zero Sum Game?
Accountability · Blog

Is Education a Zero Sum Game?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Zero-Sum Game: A situation in game theory in which one person’s gain is equivalent to another’s loss, so the net change in wealth or benefit is zero. (Definition: Investopedia) Admissions, a play by Joshua Harmon, ends its run at the Lincoln Center Theater this Sunday, May 6. Admissions stars Jessica Hecht (Susan, wife of Carol,… Continue reading Is Education a Zero Sum Game?

Changes Coming To NYC Middle and High School Admissions! What They Might Mean For You!
Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Changes Coming To NYC Middle and High School Admissions! What They Might Mean For You!

Alina Adams2 Comments

With a new School Chancellor taking office this month, there were bound to be changes afoot. Although, in Richard Carranza’s defense, modifications to New York City’s application system for public middle and high schools have been hotly debated topics for years. Here’s a look at the proposals on deck, whom they will help, and whom… Continue reading Changes Coming To NYC Middle and High School Admissions! What They Might Mean For You!

Why I Gave My Son Permission To Drop Out Of High School
School Choice

Why I Gave My Son Permission To Drop Out Of High School

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last month I wrote about allowing my 14 year-old to make his own decision regarding where he’d go to high school. After letting it get down to the wire, he finally decided that he’ll be attending the same Specialized High School his older brother graduated from in 2017. But he isn’t particularly enthused about it.… Continue reading Why I Gave My Son Permission To Drop Out Of High School

Letting My 14 Year-Old Make His Own Educational Decisions
Blog · School Choice

Letting My 14 Year-Old Make His Own Educational Decisions

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Today, Monday, March 26, is the day when all New York City eighth-graders must either decide which public High School offer they are going to accept or, if they were given no match during the First Round, turn in their application for the schools left in Second Round. (For tips on why and how you… Continue reading Letting My 14 Year-Old Make His Own Educational Decisions

Please Stop Equating Low-Income With Low Achievement. And Pretending That Sitting Next To Middle-Class Kids Fixes Both.
Blog

Please Stop Equating Low-Income With Low Achievement. And Pretending That Sitting Next To Middle-Class Kids Fixes Both.

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Everyone from Beatrice Kaufman to Fanny Brice to Sophie Tucker to Mae West to Cher has been quoted as saying, “I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich. Rich is better.” Few would disagree with them. Just like few would disagree that New York City schools with wealthier families post higher test scores due, in no… Continue reading Please Stop Equating Low-Income With Low Achievement. And Pretending That Sitting Next To Middle-Class Kids Fixes Both.