“Yiatin Chu, a Stuyvesant parent and outspoken proponent of the SHSAT admissions process, is among those who argue the racial demographics at the school are merely an indicator of deep-rooted inequities in the wider public school system.
She defended the test, calling it an “objective, transparent measure that doesn’t look at your last name, doesn’t look at your skin color, and doesn’t look at your income.”
Chu is co-president of Parents Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, or PLACE, which advocates for selective admissions.
Instead of eliminating the SHSAT, she said the city should focus on “fixing” elementary and middle schools so more students are eligible. “I don’t know what people are expecting when nothing in our K to 8 education has changed,” she said.
She pointed to a study that found the test is a good predictor of success at the school.
On Monday, Mamdani advocated investments in earlier grades to level the playing field.
“I will say that we know that a single test does not reflect the aptitude of students across the city. We know that Black and Latino students are excelling across the five boroughs as are students in a wide variety of schools. We have to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to deliver for those students at the earliest ages,” he said.
Read the full article: https://gothamist.com/news/boot-camp-to-improve-diversity-at-elite-nyc-schools-also-lacks-diversity-data-shows