Monthly Archives: July 2021

Are there too many Jews in Hollywood? Are there too many transgender people in the military? Are the too many Latino baseball players? Are there too many Asian students at the New York City specialized high schools? Did you answer … Continue reading →

On June 3, 2018 Mayor Bill de Blasio and then schools chancellor Richard Carranza introduced a plan for an alternative to using the SHSAT for selective high school admissions. Known to some as “The 7% plan” the idea is to … Continue reading →

Currently the only factor to determine admissions to the New York City specialized high schools is a 114 question mainly multiple choice question about math and reading. Out of 100,000 8th graders — 25,000 who take the SHSAT test — … Continue reading →

I’ve been following and participating in debates about education politics for about ten years. In an oversimplified way the two ‘sides’ of the debate are the ‘public education advocates’ and the ‘corporate reformers’. The ‘reformers’ hit a peak of popularity … Continue reading →

There are currently eight specialized high school in New York City. Out of the total 100,000 8th graders in the New York City school system about 25,000 take the SHSAT — the sole criteria for admissions — around 5,000 offers … Continue reading →

There are about 100,000 8th graders in New York City. About 25,000 of them take the SHSAT. About 5,000 of them are offered a spot in one of the eight specialized high schools, 800 at the most competitive school, where … Continue reading →

Out of the around 100,000 8th graders in New York City, 25,000 of them take the SHSAT. Of the 25,000 test takers, about 5,000 get offers to one of the eight specialized high schools. The demographic breakdown of New York … Continue reading →

Though he died before I was born, I’ve heard many stories about my father’s uncle — my great uncle Moe. One of these stories was about how uncle Moe worked at the carnival and how despite being a small man, … Continue reading →