A poll of more than 1,000 city parents found that 92 percent are “extremely or very concerned” about Department of Education grading and admissions overhauls amid coronavirus-induced turmoil, according to the PLACE advocacy group.
Respondents objected to the junking of grades for all K-8 kids and worried that the crisis was providing a pretext for the hasty execution of larger agendas.
“Many parents fear that means the Chancellor will use the pandemic as cover to remove highly coveted screened schools and programs,” PLACE said in a statement.
In a panel discussion last month, Richard Carranza, who has questioned the ethics of sorted schools, told fellow administrators not to “waste a good crisis” in the pursuit of change.
In addition to the grade ban, the pandemic also led to the cancellation of state exams and the removal of attendance as an admissions metric.
Without these elements, parents are wondering how the DOE will handle screened school admissions — next year and into the future.
The survey found that nine in 10 believe that the DOE’s eventual plan will be “less fair.”
“I have no faith in the DOE making fair admission policy for this coming up high school admission for all the students,” one parent said.
Carranza and other city leaders have cast the city’s screened schools — including the eight specialized high schools — as privileged preserves that unfairly exclude black and Hispanic students.
Kids with superior resources, critics argue, are far better equipped to satisfy traditional admissions criteria.
Less standardized metrics, they contend, would help to identify a wider pool of talented kids across the city.
The city’s specialized schools are currently 62 percent Asian, 24 percent white and just 9 percent black and Hispanic combined.
Many top city middle schools are also heavily Asian. At Christa McAuliffe IS 187 in Dyker Heights, a feeder school to the elite eight, they comprise 69 percent of the student population.
Backers of the current system note that many kids admitted to top city public schools are the children of working class immigrants from places like China and Bangladesh rather than the pampered elite.
The latter group, they contend, are more likely to attend private schools than vie for competitive public school spots.
Critics also note that vocal screened school opponents — including many top DOE officials — often send or sent their own kids to the competitive campuses while questioning them in public.
“A clear majority of parents surveyed want schools to continue using the three most common metrics in some way,” according to the PLACE poll. “Ninety-eight percent of parents would like report card grades to be used. Sixty-eight percent of parents surveyed want state test scores to be included in admissions decisions.”
The group demanded that the DOE present its final middle and high school admissions plan by the end of May.
“The uncertainty of the upcoming middle and high school admissions has added to the already stressed lives of families dealing with their children’s remote learning and personal hardships,” PLACE said.
A DOE spokesperson stressed that no final decisions had been made on admissions and that there would be additional community engagement beforehand.
“Every policy adjustment we make is responsive to the current crisis our students are enduring, and balances keeping our students engaged without penalizing them for the trauma they may be experiencing. Admissions policies, when decided upon, will similarly take many voices into account and ultimately be in the best interest of all students.”