Black Education Decline

Walter E. Williams Jun 19, 2019

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says that the city's specialized high schools have a diversity problem. He's joined by New York City Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza, educators, students and community leaders who want to fix the diversity problem. I bet you can easily guess what they will do to "improve" the racial mix of students (aka diversity). If you guessed they would propose eliminating the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test as the sole criterion for admissions, go to the head of the class. The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test is an examination that is administered to New York City's eighth- and ninth-grade students. By state law, it is used to determine admission to all but one of the city's nine specialized high schools.

It's taken as axiomatic that the relatively few blacks admitted to these high-powered schools is somehow tied to racial discrimination. In a June 2, 2018 "Chalkbeat" article, de Blasio writes: "The problem is clear. Eight of our most renowned high schools -- including Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School -- rely on a single, high-stakes exam. The Specialized High School Admissions Test isn't just flawed -- it's a roadblock to justice, progress and academic excellence."............To Read More.....