SHSAT

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?

Will Changing Admission to Specialized High Schools Change Specialized High Schools? How Do We Find Out?
Finding the Right School

Will Changing Admission to Specialized High Schools Change Specialized High Schools? How Do We Find Out?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

This past weekend, 30,000 New York City 8th graders took the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) in hope of being among the 4,000 students accepted to one of the eight schools which use the SHSAT as its sole qualifying measure. This year, twenty percent of seats at every school are being set aside as… Continue reading Will Changing Admission to Specialized High Schools Change Specialized High Schools? How Do We Find Out?

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?