Why I Support Multiple Measures of Admission to New York's Specialized High Schools

 

When people ask me what I think of proposed changes in the admissions requirements for Specialized High Schools, here is what I tell them

First, I support multiple measures of evaluation for colleges, jobs, sports teams and anything else I can think of, why should I support a single test as the sole standard of admission to specialized high schools.

Secondly, at a time when more and more colleges are becoming SAT/ACT Optional, it is in no one's interest, other than test companies and those involved in data mining, to put so much emphasis on standardized tests. You are not preparing students for higher education by using a single test criteria for top high schools- you are not preparing them for today's workplace either. Social skills, intellectual curiosity, cultural breadth are among the array of traits that employers in all walks of life look for; that is why they have interviews, or group sessions which expose prospective employees to real life situations

So, while I think testing is a legitimate element in admission for institutions such as Stuyvestant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech, especially given these schools long and distinguished histories, it is time to make their admissions standards more broad based.

An excessive emphasis on testing is the bane of public education. Test skepticism, not test reverence, is what we need to deal with children's multiple aptitudes and to create healthier communities