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City's Elite High Schools Admit Fewer Blacks, Hispanics
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 12, 2011
Modified Feb 12, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 12, 2011
Modified Feb 12, 2011
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According to the results of the city’s admissions process for the seven specialized, elite high schools, the vast majority of those admitted were either white or asian. Only four percent of students admitted were black and six percent were hispanic, while 30 percent were asian and 35 percent were white; having said that, the ethnicity of nearly one-quarter of admitted students was not known, because they were multiracial, coming from private school or were not identified, so it may not be quite as dire as it seems.
Those elite high schools include Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School and Stuyvesant High School, among others. The DOE released a semi-apologetic statement, but one former Brooklyn Tech and Queens High School for the Sciences teacher wrote to the Times, "I can attest that the disproportion between the overall number of blacks and Latinos in the city schools and their representation in the specialized schools has been a longstanding issue. Clearly, the strategies in place to address the disparity are not working. In fact, the continuing decline in the numbers would suggest that they have had the opposite effect...Why there has been such profound resistance to adjusting the test for so long remains puzzling. Clearly, the arguments made not to change the test need closer scrutiny."
Tagged
admission
bronx high school of science
brooklyn technical high schol
elite
high school
racism
stuyvesant high school
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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