November 14, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PLACE NYC Urges the Panel for Education Policy to Approve the SHSAT Contract
New York, NY — PLACE NYC urges the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) to approve the contract with Pearson Inc. to provide the test used to admit NYC students to the eight Specialized High Schools. The Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is the sole method for determining admissions to New York City’s Specialized High Schools as enshrined by New York State’s 1971 Hecht Calandra Act. Failure to approve the Pearson contract will leave no other means to administer the test. As such, eight NYC high schools will be without a freshman class starting in the fall of 2026.
Pearson has been selected after an RFP process initiated in 2023. The new five-year contract appeared on the PEP agenda in October but was pulled; it is on the upcoming November 20 PEP agenda to be voted on. To ensure the SHSAT can be administered in fall 2025, the PEP must approve the SHSAT contract.
“NYC families have gone through major upheaval in high school admissions. Getting a seat at a popular high school now depends on drawing a good lottery number. The SHSAT is the one dependable pathway for students to access NYC’s world-renowned Specialized High Schools. We hope the Mayor ensures the SHSAT will be available for 30,000 students who count on the opportunity to take the test”, said Yiatin Chu, Co-President of PLACE NYC.
We urge NYC parents to sign our open letter and call their Borough President’s Offices asking their PEP appointees to approve the SHSAT contract.
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