SHSAT

Relax, The Experts Know What’s Best For Your Child. They Just Don’t Agree On What It Is. Or How To Get It.
Accountability · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Relax, The Experts Know What’s Best For Your Child. They Just Don’t Agree On What It Is. Or How To Get It.

Alina Adams1 Comment

When I work with families looking to find the best school for their child, one of the first things I offer them is, “tell me what you believe, and I’ll send you a study that confirms it.” I’m not joking. The education space is full of experts and studies, all proclaiming to know what’s best… Continue reading Relax, The Experts Know What’s Best For Your Child. They Just Don’t Agree On What It Is. Or How To Get It.

Doing the Math = School Choice
School Choice

Doing the Math = School Choice

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

I have a confession to make. I spend a lot of time on Twitter (@NYSchoolSecrets.com). As a result, I am often caught in multi-day, multi-participant conversations between various people, most of whom I only know as tiny avatar pictures. (Mine features my kids.) Here’s what I have learned from spending a lot of time on… Continue reading Doing the Math = School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #4): Desperately Seeking a Silver Lining
Accountability

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #4): Desperately Seeking a Silver Lining

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

In response to my post, What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #2): Who Will Win and Who Will Lose When It Passes, a reader commented: (W)ould be useful to also point out the specific types of students who would win under the new plan. Because, no way around it, some… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #4): Desperately Seeking a Silver Lining

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?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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

The Lack of Diversity in NYC’s Elite High Schools Has Nothing To Do With the Admissions Test.
Accountability

The Lack of Diversity in NYC’s Elite High Schools Has Nothing To Do With the Admissions Test.

Laura Waters2 Comments

The media is afire with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to diversify NYC’s most competitive high schools — Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech — by eliminating the SHSAT admissions test. Instead of basing student suitability for these ultra-competitive schools on a single test, he says, students will be admitted based on classroom… Continue reading The Lack of Diversity in NYC’s Elite High Schools Has Nothing To Do With the Admissions Test.

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

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!
Finding the Right School · School Choice

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

Alina Adams1 Comment

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!

Is An “Unenriched” Spring Break Worth Living? (Hat-Tip: Socrates)
Blog · School Choice

Is An “Unenriched” Spring Break Worth Living? (Hat-Tip: Socrates)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Even before Spring Break kicked off in New York City, my email box was flooded with offers of what I could do to “enrich” my children over that time period. They could learn to code. Or cook. Or write a novel. Sharpen their basketball/tennis/lacrosse skills, design an outfit, or take part in a musical theater… Continue reading Is An “Unenriched” Spring Break Worth Living? (Hat-Tip: Socrates)