Featuring information about how to navigate the top high school admissions process and what parents can do to ensure their children gain access to NYC’s elite public schools
Reading Comprehension Questions For Parents to Ask
Just a heads up, the goal is always to move students up the bloom's taxonomy levels of learning and they have to evolve from level one, which is REMEMBER, to level six, which is to CREATE. Let's make sure we are fostering a learning environment where they can slowly but surely get to the highest level of thinking, being and doing. Here is a quick reference so you can understand what Bloom’s Taxonomy is.
After reading with your child each night, help them understand the book by asking some questions. It is important students read the book independently, and then discuss the book after reading. Here are some questions to help facilitate discussions and understanding. We got this from the Pennsylvania school district and found it very helpful. Here is the original link for your convenience.
Could this story be true? Why or why not?
Where is the setting of this story?
Who is this story about? Tell about him or her.
What words would you use to describe the main character?
Do you like the main character? Why or why not?
Does the main character have a problem? What is it?
How is the problem solved? (What is the solution?)
What is the scariest, funniest, saddest, most interesting, or most funny
part of the story? Read it aloud.
Do you like this story? Why or why not?
Do you know any real people who are like the characters in this story? Who are the people? How are they the same? How are the different?
Did anything in the story happen that has happened to you? Tell about it.
Who is telling this story? Is there a narrator?
Why do you think the author chose the title for this story? How does it
relate to the story?
Would you like to be a character from the story? Why or why not?
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Higher Level Comprehension Questions
Knowledge
Identify the characters in the story by making a list of all the characters.
When and where does the story take place?
Tell what the story is about.
Locate facts in the story and list the main facts.
Find the two most interesting sentences in the story.
Make a list of the words in the story you do not know.
Comprehension
Describe the characters in the story.
Describe how you think the main character feels in the beginning of the
story. Describe the main character’s feelings at the end of the story.
Explain the main idea of the story by retelling it in your own words.
Summarize the main facts in the story and discuss how they relate to the
main idea of the story.
Locate sentences or phrases in the story you do not understand and infer
the meanings.
Application
Give an example of someone you know who is like one of the characters in the story.
If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in the story, which character would you choose and what would you talk about?
Has anything in your life happened that is similar to the things that happened in the story?
What events in the story could not happen in real life?
Construct an illustration that shows the main characters in the story in a real life situation.
Find words or phrases in the story you do not currently use and write a short story using these words or phrases.
Analysis
Explain what part of the story was the most exciting to read and why.
Explain what part of the story was the funniest or the saddest and why.
Compare and/or contrast the facts in this story to facts in another story.
Examine and analyze the main character(s)’ feelings at the beginning,
middle, and end of the story.
Classify and/or categorize these feelings as the same or different.
Write a critique of the story, and highlight the main facts or main idea of
the story.
Synthesis
What changes would you make to the story?
Predict how your changes would transform or change the story.
Generate a new title for the story. Explain your new title.
Create a new ending for the story.
Combine two characters in the story in order to invent a new character,
and write a short story with this new character as the main character in
your story.
Rearrange or change one main fact in the story. Does this change the
entire story? How?
Evaluation
Was the main character(s) in the story good or bad? Support your opinion with words from the text.
What is your opinion of the story? Did you enjoy reading it? Explain.
Do you agree with all of the facts in the story? Explain.
Compare this story with other stories you have read in the past. Give evidence from the texts.
Would you read other stories like this story? Justify your opinion.
Rate the story on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest. Defend your rating.
Ask Deeper Questions with Critical Media Literacy
Critical Media Literacy is a framework to help our children become critical thinkers and more empowered Global citizens. It helps students to question the relationships between media and audiences, information and power. We can no longer just accept what the media feeds us. It is crucial that students are armed with the tools to question the world around them. As the world becomes more interconnected, students will need to develop the skills and dispositions to question the information they are hearing, seeing, reading, creating, sharing, and using. Try asking these questions to your children after the next movie they watch, book they read, newspaper article that peruse, etc. These skills are built over time and will help your children to read between the lines in school and in life. #AdmissionSquad
Share, J. (2020) Mediating the Curriculum with Critical Media Literacy. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.
Why Attend Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School is the hardest Specialized High School to get into because that have the highest cutoff score. Some of you may be wondering is it even worth it to shoot that high when I can easily get into Brooklyn Tech and Brooklyn Latin and still be considered a Specialized High School graduate. While that may be true, it is important to understand the unique benefits of attending Stuyvesant High School and why it has the number 1 spot in terms of prestige and competitiveness in the admissions process. Check out the attached resource that we received from a Stuyvesant advocacy group that details some of the tremendous benefits of attending Stuyvesant High School. We hope this document will support you in making a more comprehensive decision.
How to encourage your child to read?
One of the main areas our children need to improve is how to read with deep understanding and how to critically analyze the text that is in front of them. These are skills that are built over time and can be cultivated in the home environment. As a family, we recommend that you begin by reading text together and asking critical questions about the text.
#1. Read.
Simple first step! If we're going to encourage kids to read, we need to do it too. Read for pleasure, information, instructions, connecting with others, and so on. Read. Read a little more than you've been reading lately. Read together as a family. Make it a household norm and value that we are a reading family. We love it and we make it a regular practice.
#2. Explore different topics and find your interests.
Download our Reading List of some of the best educational publications and websites featuring the latest in science, education, and technology news.
#3 Ask deeper questions
Knowing how to read is simply about phonics.Understanding what you are reading and being able to make deeper connections is the foundation of comprehension. It’s not enough to send your child to their room to have reading time and then you never talk about it. I would like to encourage you to ask deeper questions. See this blog post for some examples of questions you can ask your child to get them higher on the bloom’s taxonomy scale. Check out this blog post to learn about some questions you can ask when reading news articles or watching current events videos. It is all about Critical Media Literacy.
We wish you and your child all the best!
SHSAT Results By Race: 2019 - 2021
The moment we have all been waiting for happened in the last week of April of 2021. New York City received the unimpressive 2021 SHSAT results and there were some important insights to note. The unfortunate reality is that these outcomes have been virtually unchanged for the last decade or so. We stand on the fact that the results will remain the same until appropriate action is taken to address the root cause of the issue. We will address this in another post. Here are the 2021 admissions results.
Here are the stats you need to know: In 2021, 3.6 percent of offers to attend the city's eight Specialized High Schools went to black students (down from 4.5% in 2020) and 5.4 percent of the offers went to Hispanic students (down from 6.6% in 2019). While these percentages don’t equate to significant changes in the number of students placing, it is still important to note the decrease. Please note that these numbers do not include the offers extended to the Discovery Program.
For anyone who is asking why this is a big deal, let me explain. Black and latinx students comprise almost 70 percent of students in the NYC public school system yet only 10% of the seats offered at Specialized High Schools. These results are a glaring display of the educational inequities running rampant through our system as well as the need to invest in test prep companies like AdmissionSquad to help rebuild and preserve the talent pipeline. There are also 43,000 fewer students enrolled in New York City’s public schools this year: a 4% decrease which further highlights the challenges we face.
We believe that this target population has the ability to gain admission into these highly sought after high schools as long as a concerted effort is made to:
Close the information gap causing students from this population to miss out on the opportunity to attend a Specialized High School
Provide high-quality test prep to as many highly motivated, deserving students as possible starting from 3rd grade
By addressing these two critical factors, NYC stands to gain access to a talent pipeline that has been overlooked for the past two decades. Believe it or not, there are many parents, grandparents, guidance counselors, teachers, youth ministry leaders, family members, etc. in black and brown communities that know very little about the city's Specialized High Schools and what it really takes to get in. More importantly, the middle schoolers oftentimes cannot see themselves in these schools because of the lack of diversity. I challenge all of us to come together to train our children to become competitive and create a more inclusive environment in the Specialized High Schools. With increased awareness, academic enrichment, access to rigorous test prep and long-term support, these students can secure a seat on the Education to Wealth Pipeline.
Our work continues! See below for a comparison between 2019 and 2020.
What Parents Can Do to Help Their Children Become Academically Competitive
1) Be an active parent in your child's school and help the teachers and school leadership team to provide a better quality education. Don't just make demands of the schools but HELP them expand. Strong schools have very strong PTA's. Many black and brown schools have PTA's with very low participation. Increasing your engagement can make a huge difference. This includes, writing proposals for grant opportunities, reaching out to organizations for resources to add to the school, and fundraising.
2) Keep your children at least one grade level ahead. Either someone at home needs to work with the child consistently or sign up for an academic enrichment program that will give the child access to advanced learning. AdmissionSquad is a viable option to help your child. Sign up for one of our programs
3) Get informed about your school options. Before signing your child up for a school, do some research to see how strong the school is. What are the average scores. Where do the children typically end up after leaving the school. If your child is already enrolled, how can you help to improve the odds of success for your child and others.
4) [Specifically for African American Students] Support the development of more afro-centered schools and privately run academic enrichment programs/test prep companies owned by black people. AdmissionSquad is a great organization to support. You can support with your donations or by sharing your talents, connections and resources with us. This will allow us to build our own children instead of waiting on other communities to build our children.
5) Volunteer to teach children. Beyond just your own. Help out another parent and it shall be returned onto you. We must work together to build the youth.
There are many action steps that parents can take to make a difference for their children and others. Parents MUST INVEST TIME, MONEY AND RESOURCES IN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION. This is what the successful families are doing that every parent needs to model in order to see more success. If you want better outputs, you need better inputs.
2021 SHSAT Cutoff Scores
Here are the 2021 SHSAT cutoff scores for the most recent class of test takers. You will notice that the minimum admitted score has decreased for quite a few of the Specialized High Schools. This point decrease is indicative of a few factors:
There was a decrease in the number of students who took the 2020 SHSAT by about 4,000 students.
The real reason the cutoff scores were lower this year is because Mayor De Blasio expanded the number of seats for the Discovery Program to 20% (About 1,000 seats). This reduced the number of seats available through regular admission. With fewer seats available, the minimum admitted score was affected.
There were multiple versions of the test and some exams included topics not represented in the DOE SHSAT handbooks. This threw many students of.
Unusual testing conditions. Students had to wear masks and take the exam in rooms that may not have been comfortable for them.
Please keep in mind that the SHSAT is an academic competition between the approximate 23,500 8th grade students who sat for the exam in January of 2021 of the child’s 8th grade year. Students with IEP’s and 504’s are typically given extended time to achieve success on the exam AND the DOE has selected a few middle schools to host the SHSAT on site removing a travel barrier to students.
How to Read Your Score
The SHSAT is comprised of 114 questions - 57 questions in the ELA section and 57 questions in the math section. You will get a raw score for each section. The raw score represents the number of questions you got correct per section. There is a conversion chart that the DOE uses to convert the raw score to a scaled score out of 400 points for each section of the exam. The two scaled scores are then added for a total composite score out of 800 possible points.
Advice for Prospective Students
Get 4’s on your common core state exams and learn content a grade level ahead of your current grade at all times. Staying a grade level ahead will help you to beat out your competition. Even if the DOE does not administer a state exam, still practice and master this content at home.
Instead of focusing on how to exceed the minimum admitted score, a prospective student should focus on how they can be the best amongst the entire group of 8th grade students. Focus on beating the highest admitted score for the school of your choice. Even better, make it a goal to get the highest score possible (800 points) and this is how you can secure a seat in one of the Specialized High Schools.
To be on track for admission into all of the Specialized High Schools, students should have a 400 by the start of 7th grade, a 500 by the end of 7th grade and a 600 by the start of 8th grade. The ultimate goal is to score a 650 by your final practice SHSAT before taking the exam. Overall, this means you should get around 47 questions correct in your stronger area and about 40 questions correct in your weaker area.
Finally, we believe that ALL students should sit for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). There are 80,000 8th graders in NYC every year, yet only about 28,000 take the SHSAT. Having ALL students sit for the exam could change the cutoff scores and might tell a different story. You never know what the outcome might be and you literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Give it your best shot and start preparing now so you can shine on exam day.
Sign up for one of our programs. We have online classes available and would love to support you on this very rewarding journey. Click here
2020 SHSAT Cutoff Scores
Here are the 2020 SHSAT cutoff scores for the most recent class of test takers. You will notice that the minimum admitted score has increased for quite a few of the Specialized High Schools. This point increase is indicative of two factors:
The real reason the cutoff scores were higher this year is because Mayor De Blasio expanded the number of seats for the Discovery Program to 20% (About 1,000 seats). This reduced the number of seats available through regular admission. With fewer seats available, the minimum admitted score was higher.
There were more testers this year. So, this could mean that the applicant pool was more competitive.
Please keep in mind that the SHSAT is an academic competition between the approximate 30,000 8th grade students who sit for the exam in October to November of the child’s 8th grade year. Students with IEP’s and 504’s are given extended time to achieve success on the exam AND the DOE has selected a few middle schools to host the SHSAT on site removing a travel barrier to students.
How to Read Your Score
The SHSAT is comprised of 114 questions - 57 questions in the ELA section and 57 questions in the math section. You will get a raw score for each section. The raw score represents the number of questions you got correct per section. There is a conversion chart that the DOE uses to convert the raw score to a scaled score out of 400 points for each section of the exam. The two scaled scores are then added for a total composite score out of 800 possible points.
Advice for Prospective Students
Get 4’s on your common core state exams and learn content a grade level ahead of your current grade at all times. Staying a grade level ahead will help you to beat out your competition.
Instead of focusing on how to exceed the minimum admitted score, a prospective student should focus on how they can be the best amongst the entire group of 8th grade students. Focus on beating the highest admitted score for the school of your choice. Even better, make it a goal to get the highest score possible (800 points) and this is how you can secure a seat in one of the Specialized High Schools.
To be on track for admission into all of the Specialized High Schools, students should have a 400 by the start of 7th grade, a 500 by the end of 7th grade and a 600 by the start of 8th grade. The ultimate goal is to score a 650 by your final practice SHSAT before taking the exam. Overall, this means you should get around 47 questions correct in your stronger area and about 40 questions correct in your weaker area.
Finally, we believe that ALL students should sit for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). There are 80,000 8th graders in NYC every year, yet only about 28,000 take the SHSAT. Having ALL students sit for the exam could change the cutoff scores and might tell a different story. You never know what the outcome might be and you literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Give it your best shot and start preparing now so you can shine on exam day.
Sign up for one of our programs. We have online classes available and we would love to support you on this very rewarding journey. Click here
What to Bring to the SHSAT on Exam Day
After studying for months and in some cases, years, it’s time for you to take one of the biggest exams of your academic career and the last thing you need to know is what to bring on exam day. The Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is certainly a high stakes exam but as long as you are prepared you will be in a great position to be successful. Make sure you show up at least 30 minutes before the exam and bring the following items listed below. Remember, there are no breaks during the exam so be sure to use the bathroom in advance of the start of the exam and eat a great breakfast the morning of the exam. If you use the bathroom DURING the exam, it will count against your three hours. No parents are allowed in the testing location but they can accompany students up to the location entrance. Be calm, study as much as possible in advance and trust that you have done your very best to get ready for the exam. So without further ado , here are the things you should bring with you on exam day!
What to bring on exam day…
Your testing ticket signed by a parent or guardian
Your list of Specialized High Schools in the order of your preference. Make sure you discuss this with your parents in advance. This is a very important step! We strongly advise that you list more than one school. Anywhere from 4-8 schools in the appropriate order of preference is the right move! At the same time, only put schools you can see yourself attending.
4-5 sharpened number 2 pencils with good erasers or bring an extra eraser that does a great job
Highlighter if you desire to have one
A watch or any other timing device as long as it does not have a calculator function or any technology. You can’t use your phone to tell what time it is and you can’t guarantee that you will have access to a clock in the room in which you are placed. So, having a watch or non-smart timing device will be crucial.
Dress for success. Wear something that makes you feel confident and comfortable. Be prepared if the room is too hot or too cold. Layers are helpful here.
Bring something to keep your energy up during the exam that does not make noise and some water that does not make noise. If it makes noise, it will be taken away. Some ideas include a small piece of candy, some nuts or dried fruit. Students can have their snack before the beginning of the test administration; snacks are NOT allowed during testing time.
What NOT to bring on exam day…
Cell phones, calculators, tablets or any smart devices are NOT allowed in the testing area
2019 SHSAT Test Dates
The 2019 SHSAT will take place on October 26th and October 27th. After registering for the exam on MySchools.nyc, students will be assigned a date and location and will have to report to the designated testing site on exam day. All first-time 9th graders will take the exam on October 27th.
When will we receive the SHSAT exam ticket?
Students will receive the SHSAT exam ticket by Wednesday, October 23rd. Please check MySchools.nyc during the week leading up to the exam for your child’s exam ticket. Make sure they bring a signed copy with them to the actual exam.
When do students with special needs take the exam?
These students will take the exam on November 2nd or November 17th.
When do English Language Learners take the exam?
These students will take the exam on November 2nd or November 17th.
What if the exam is being administered at my middle school, when do we take the exam?
There are 55 middle schools where the exam will be administered on-site. For these students and schools, the exam will be held on October 30th.
What if I move to NYC after the November exam dates, when can I take the test?
You will take the exam the end of Summer 2020. Typically in August.
What if I am not a NYC resident, can I take the test?
If you are not a NYC resident, you are not allowed to take the SHSAT or attend one of the Specialized High Schools.
Where is the exam located?
Depending on your child’s school district, home address and a few other addresses, your child will be assigned to one of the following locations: Stuyvesant High School, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Staten Island Tech, James Madison, Sunset Park, Long Island City High School, and Hillcrest High School. It is also possible that your child may attend a middle school where the Specialized High School Test will be administered on October 30th. Please check with your child’s school to confirm.
What if I am sick on exam day, is there another chance to take the test?
Yes! Make sure you notify your child’s guidance counselor as soon as possible and request a make-up date. You must provide documentation explaining that you were sick and unable to test. A doctor’s note can be used here and any photos or additional documents. See below for the information from the Department of Education.
12 Free SHSAT Exams to Start Studying
Although the SHSAT has evolved over the years, the fundamental elements of the exam have remained the same. As a result, students preparing for the exam need to stay up to date about the new exam and any potential changes that may happen but can also use the old exams to practice for the real thing. To assist you in this process, we would like to share 12 practice tests, available in the Specialized High School student handbooks, that are a superb (and free!) resource for preparation. To make this more convenient for you, we have compiled all 12 student handbooks which each include two free practice tests on our website in the Free Resources section, along with notes about how they should be used.
At AdmissionSquad, we believe that these released tests represent the highest quality study material available so we strongly suggest that you use them carefully. When paired with a good SHSAT preparation course, like ours, students should have more than enough material to take them from here until test day.
A few more tips...
If your son or daughter is working with a tutor, consult with them about if and when to use this material.
On a similar note, we have had students come in to take mock exams (we use released exams in addition to our own custom tests) only to find that they have already taken part or all of a specific tests. To avoid this, we suggest that parents inform any mock test center about which tests (if any) their children have been using to study.
Click the button below to access a complete list of released SHSAT student handbooks that you and your child can use to help them get ready for the exam.
Sign up for the 2019 SHSAT by October 10th
I know by now you are working very hard to get ready for the SHSAT coming up in a few weeks. The one thing you don’t want to forget is to REGISTER FOR THE TEST! This year, for the first time, parents are solely responsible for registering their child for the 2019 exam. The link above gives you all the details.
In this post, I wanted to share some commonly asked questions so everyone is clear:
Who is eligible to take the SHSAT?
All current 8th graders, and first-time 9th graders (regardless of whether you go to a public, private, or parochial school in one of the five Boroughs) can sign up to take the SHSAT. Long Island residents are not allowed to sign up to take the exam.
How do homeschooled students sign up?
Visit your family welcome center for the account creation code so you can sign up.
What about Students with IEP’s, 504 plans or English Language Learners?
Make sure you will apply. You will take the exam on a different day on November 3rd or November 18th.
What if you moved to NYC after November 1st?
You will take the SHSAT in August right before 9th grade. You can register at your local Family Welcome Center.
9th Grade SHSAT Cutoff Scores
The Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is offered in 8th grade and in 9th grade. We strongly encourage parents to focus on the 8th grade exam because there are far fewer seats available for your child to gain admission into one of the Specialized High Schools as a 9th grader. For your convenience, we have prepared this table to show you the difference in available seats for students taking the 8th grade exam versus students taking the 9th grade exam. It is pretty clear that your child’s best opportunity to land a seat in a Specialized High School is in 8th grade for 9th grade entry.
Many parents often ask us about the 9th grade cutoff scores. There are no published numbers for what students score year over year to gain admission into a Specialized High School as a 9th grader. What we do know is based on the rigor of the exam and the number of seats available, the score tends to be about 30 points higher than what students need at the 8th grade level. Please visit this blog post to see the 8th grade cut off scores for 2019. So if a student needs about a 560 to get into Stuyvesant High School as an 8th grader, they will need about a 590 to get into Stuyvesant High School as a 9th grader.
Let’s also discuss the content tested on the 9th grade SHSAT. The English Language Arts (ELA) section is exactly the same on the 8th grade and 9th grade exam. If your child was already scoring very high on the 8th grade ELA section of the SHSAT, they are in great shape. However, the math section includes more advanced material that can go up to 10th grade. Some of the topics include functions, especially linear functions, trigonometry, transformations, advanced Geometry, complex exponents and more. Your child would need to achieve mastery on the integrated algebra math regents and gain some additional exposure to trigonometry and geometry math topics to excel on the 9th grade SHSAT. With this in mind, you can see how it is much harder to place into one of these highly sought after high schools at this stage. The other factor is far less social support. There are far fewer students who take the 9th grade SHSAT and far less awareness about the opportunity. Your child would need to be very motivated and diligent to place at this stage.
We encourage all families to try out for the SHSAT and we hope that as many people as possible will focus on the 8th grade exam. If by some chance, your child does not place and would like to take the 9th grade exam, YOU MUST START STUDYING AS SOON AS YOU FIND OUT THE RESULS IN MARCH. This would give you a solid 7 MONTHS to prepare for this rigorous exam. We wish you all the best.
AdmissionSquad does not offer live SHSAT prep classes for 9th graders. However, if you reach out to us we may be able to point you in the right direction.
NYC High School Directory
The Department of Education (DOE) has decided to switch from using the 500+ page High School Directory to using a new website called mySchools.nyc. Parents can now find all of their child’s high school needs on this website. So set up an account as soon as possible. However, you may still use the 2019 NYC High School Directory as a reference post. Just keep in mind that the most updated information will be on the website.
SHSAT Handbook 2019-2020
We wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to access the 2019-2020 Specialized High School Handbook so here it is! Start studying as soon as possible so you can gain admission into one of the most competitive schools in the entire city!
Why Specialized High Schools are So Important
As the world becomes more globalized and the innovation economy continues to expand, there is a growing need for talent that will help build this new world that is upon us. The sort of talent that will thrive in the 21st century economy will be those who are inherently problem solver and have a knack for the various STEAM fields. When I think of
We need Specialized High Schools
There are students without those amazing grades that show up on exam day and do very well and the Specialized High Schools are an amazing redeeming opportunity for them. We have a few of those examples of students who had 70’s and low 80’s in 7th grade, realized the need to work harder and now had the SHSAT as a last resort option to access an amazing high school. There is room in NYC’s 435 high schools for 8 schools that offer this opportunity.
Jumaane Williams is not for getting rid of the SHSAT altogether. He defends the SHSAT because he himself only got into a Specialized High School thanks to the SHSAT; his middle school grades were not good. He appreciates that there are kids who only do well on testing, especially boys, and if you take away test-only schools, of which there are only 8 in NYC, you are hurting those kids (there are already hundreds of schools in NYC that use grades for kids who don't do well with grades)
Why Only 7 Black Students Got into Stuyvesant High School in 2019
As one of the few companies in the space doing the work to help black and latinx students gain admission into Specialized High Schools and other top NYC high schools, it is only appropriate that we step in to fully educate the community on why these outcomes are to be expected until appropriate measures are taken to solve the problem at it’s core. The problem is not a simple one so the solution is certainly not a simple one either. We need to hit the problem from a number of facets in order to truly impact change.
Here is a thorough break down of the factors causing the number of black students gaining admission into Stuyvesant High School to be so low. I will hold all parties accountable in this article because it is a team effort to help these children gain access to the Specialized High Schools.
Here are the factors contributing to the low numbers:
We have a pipeline problem that is caused by the lack of gifted and talented programs in every school district in elementary schools and middle schools. Under the Bloomberg administration, many gifted and talented programs were taken away with no alternative put in place to challenge advanced learners to move to the next level. Therein lays one of our biggest issues. Without access to accelerate coursework, our best children are virtually excluded from the chance to compete on the SHSAT.
Even though the NYC public school system is about 70% black and Latino, less than 3% have level fours on both Math and ELA state exams (See image below). There are HUGE disparities in proficiency by race. So, out of 57,000 black and latino 8th grade students, only about 1,710 students meet the academic qualifications to compete for the SHSAT.
All black students DO NOT even sit for the SHSAT. Many parents are uninformed about the Specialized High Schools, they are unaware of the SHSAT and the need to prepare for the content tested on the exam. All middle school guidance counselors should inform families about the SHSAT in 6th grade. Additionally, parents are turned off by the lack of diversity and don’t even bother to have their child sit for the exam.
Our best students are scooped up by private schools and are groomed for these schools by programs like Prep for Prep, Oliver Scholar and A Better Chance. These programs are extremely rigorous and time intensive, leaving very little time to prioritize preparation for the SHSAT. It is a great opportunity for these highly sought after candidates and should be added to the conversation
If a student is in a 6-12 school or a K-12 school that is a Charter School or Public School, parents are not always given information about alternative, more competitive high school options. Many K-12 charters discourage students from taking the SHSAT so that they can keep their top students. This leaves parents incapable of making an appropriate, holistic high school admissions decision for their child. School administrators at these schools prefer to retain their best candidates to make their high schools appear stronger. Losing their best and brightest students is not in their best interest so information about more selective high schools are oftentimes withheld from parents in an effort to keep the child at the current school
Information networks are not as abundant in black and brown communities so parents often rely on teachers and guidance counselors to provide them with options for high schools. Unfortunately, guidance counselors and teachers at certain schools either DO NOT know about these schools or DO NOT share information about the city’s most competitive high school programs and oftentimes, make assumptions that the children would not be able to handle the work load. These internal biases cause students and parents to be left in the dark about their true options.
For the black students who took the exam, here is what could have happened:
Some of them do not receive test prep. Their parents may believe that they can show up cold to the exam and do well.
Some students signed up for test prep way too late for it to make a difference
Some students received test prep and did not work exceptionally hard to maximize the opportunity
Some students are just not great test takers
Now, here are the solutions:
Mayor/Chancellor/DOE Responsibility:
Create more Specialized High Schools. There is something special about the schools that should be studied carefully and duplicated. It’s a shame that every year so many talented students have to compete for so few seats. Right now, only 10% of NYC’s high schools do an exceptional job of preparing students for college. Let’s double the number of top high schools!
Improve K-8 educational quality by expanding access to gifted and talented programs to ALL school districts for the elementary schools and middle schools. This way students who are advanced learners can be challenged and moved to the next level. This is how we rebuild the pipeline
Mandate that ALL students take the SHSAT. The students have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our students have noted exceptional SAT scores as a result of receiving SHSAT preparation with us. We want all students to experience these benefits.
Administer a diagnostic SHSAT in 6th grade to ALL middle schoolers and again in 7th grade to simulate the test environment in advance of the real thing and to help build stamina in the students.
Make SHSAT tutoring available and free for all students who QUALIFY
Guidance Counselor/Teacher Responsibility:
Guidance Counselors should get informed about the top high schools in the city and encourage ALL students to get familiar and prepared for admission. Explain to students AND their parents that they will have to APPLY to get into a high school in NYC. A strong application includes 90+ report card grades in 7th grade, 4’s on the 7th grade state exam, excellent attendance and punctuality.
Teachers should identify which students have the potential to be challenged at a higher level and refer them to AdmissionSquad. We would love to work with your students to help move them to the next level. Also, you can give them SHSAT problems to work on in their free time or for homework. We have content we are willing to share for teachers who will partner with us to identify talented students.
Parent Responsibility:
Get informed about the top high schools in NYC and the Specialized High Schools. Learn who they are and what they require for admission. You need to do this while the child is in 6th grade so we stay on top of the game.
All students need to take the SHSAT. Parents, it is up to you to sign your child up for the exam and to get them prepared for the exam. Preparation for the SHSAT should start no later than 6th grade. Keep the child a grade level ahead, get them the SHSAT test prep they need to succeed and then sign up for the exam in September of 8th grade.
Sign up for test prep! I cannot emphasize this enough. Your child’s 7th grade in-school curriculum alone WILL NOT prepare them for the SHSAT. Some of the content tested on the exam is a mixture of 8th and 9th grade material. They also need to be able to work well under pressure, as the SHSAT is a timed exam. Common core state exams are not timed. Children need to receive a simulated test environment and be taught the content needed to succeed on the SHSAT. Additionally, when the child returns to school, the exam is a month and half away. There is not much content covered in the 8th grade curriculum that will do the job to prepare students.
The summer before 8th grade should be devoted to SHSAT test prep. There are no ifs, ands or buts about this. This is the last opportunity we have to truly make a difference in your child’s chances and we don’t want to miss out. A short vacation at the end of August could work but July and the first half of August should be focused on SHSAT test prep, finalizing your high school list, attending high school admissions workshops and visiting schools with your child.
Student Responsibility:
Work hard to be a grade level ahead of your peers. If you have friends that don’t want to push toward excellence you may have to distance yourself from them so you can get focused on preparing for your bright future. You may have to give up games and some free time to give yourself the significant advantage you need for your future.
Start researching the top high schools, college and leading careers to learn more about what it takes to be successful. Check out my book called Who Am I? An A-Z Career Guide for Teens to start learning about 6-figure generating careers and what you need to do to access them! You need a copy ASAP to start learning the hidden secrets for high-level success!
Community Responsibility:
Support AdmissionSquad! We welcome your funding, talent and resources to help expand our company. We need a bigger space to service more students. We need talented instructors on our team. We need mentors to encourage and motivate our students. The funding will help us to hire the team needed to run a school, which is what this is. We have an achievement school and schools require capital to run efficiently.
If you come across a talented student in middle school start sharing top high schools options with them and encourage them to take the SHSAT. Beyond giving them a pat on the back is giving them the tools needed to move beyond their current level of brilliance
Be a champion for academic excellence AT ALL TIMES
Solutions that Won’t Work and Why:
Allow then top 10% of every middle school to be admitted into the Specialized High Schools. Although this seems like the most fair strategy, I can assure you the top 10% of students at every middle school is not on the same academic level. Middle schools are not made equal. I have met 8th graders with a 95 avg that struggled with fractions and multiplication. I have also met 8th grades that were two grade levels ahead. I was one of them. There is a wide range of ability in that top 10% of students making it very difficult to plan for in a school that is supposed to be considered Specialized, designed for the city’s gifted and talented students. This is why a standardized test or standardized evaluation strategy is necessary. If gifted and talented programs were restored in every school district and the curriculum was carefully curated to ensure accelerated learning (and not just academic enrichment was happening) then this strategy could work. If all G&T middle schoolers were being groomed to complete their 9th and 10th grade regents in 7th and 8th grade, this could work.
2019 SHSAT Cutoff Scores
Here are the 2019 SHSAT cutoff scores for the most recent class of test takers. You will notice that the minimum admitted score has increased for quite a few of the Specialized High Schools. This point increase is indicative of two potential factors:
A stronger group of testers
The exam was easier than the year prior
Update (8/1/2019): The real reason the cutoff scores were higher this year is because Mayor De Blasio expanded the number of seats for the Discovery Program. This reduced the number of seats available through regular admission. With fewer seats available, the minimum admitted score was higher.
Please keep in mind that the SHSAT is an academic competition between the approximate 28,000 8th grade students who sit for the exam in October to November of the child’s 8th grade year. Students with IEP’s and 504’s are given extended time to achieve success on the exam AND the DOE has selected a few middle schools to host the SHSAT on site removing a travel barrier to students.
Advice for Prospective Students
Get 4’s on your common core state exams and learn content a grade level ahead of your current grade at all times. Staying a grade level ahead will help you to beat out your competition.
Instead of focusing on how to exceed the minimum admitted score, a prospective student should focus on how they can be the best amongst the entire group of 8th grade students. Make it a goal to get the highest score possible (800 points) and this is how you can secure a seat in the Specialized High Schools.
Finally, we believe that ALL students should sit for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). There are 80,000 8th graders in NYC every year, yet only 28,000 take the SHSAT. Having ALL students sit for the exam could change the cutoff scores and might tell a different story. You never know what the outcome might be and you literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Give it your best shot and start preparing now so you can shine on exam day.
SHSAT Results By Race - 2019 vs. 2018
The moment we have all been waiting for happened on Monday, March 18th. New York City received the startling 2019 SHSAT results and for some reason our city was shocked. The unfortunate reality is that these outcomes have been virtually unchanged for the last decade or so. We stand on the fact that the results will remain the same until appropriate action is taken to address the root cause of the issue. We will address this in another post.
Here are the stats you need to know: In 2019, 4.0 percent of offers to attend the city's eight Specialized High Schools went to black students (down from 4.1% last year) and 6.6 percent of the offers went to Hispanic students (up from 6.3% last year). While these percentages don’t equate to significant changes in the number of students placing, it is still important to note the increase. Additionally, the DOE has yet to extend offers to the Discovery program. The Mayor’s proposal has allotted seats in the Discovery program to any student who scores a few points shy of the minimum cut off score to each Specialized High School in an effort to help address the diversity issue. The Mayor set out to ensure that 20% of the seats were given to educationally and economically disadvantaged students, which happen to be black and latinx students. Once these offers are made, we WILL see another INCREASE in the number of students placing into Specialized High Schools. So, sit tight everyone. There is much room for celebration!
For anyone who is asking why this is a big deal, let me explain. Black and latinx students comprise almost 70 percent of students in the NYC public school system yet only 10% of the seats offered at Specialized High Schools. These results are a glaring display of the educational inequities running rampant through our system as well as the need to invest in test prep companies like AdmissionSquad to help rebuild and preserve the talent pipeline.
We believe that this target population has the ability to gain admission into these highly sought after high schools as long as a concerted effort is made to:
Close the information gap causing students from this population to miss out on the opportunity to attend a Specialized High School
Provide high-quality test prep to as many highly motivated, deserving students as possible starting from 3rd grade
By addressing these two critical factors, NYC stands to gain access to a talent pipeline that has been overlooked for the past two decades. Believe it or not, there are many parents, grandparents, guidance counselors, teachers, youth ministry leaders, family members, etc. in black and brown communities that know very little about the city's Specialized High Schools and what it really takes to get in. More importantly, the middle schoolers oftentimes cannot see themselves in these schools because of the lack of diversity. I challenge all of us to come together to train our children to become competitive and create a more inclusive environment in the Specialized High Schools. With increased awareness, academic enrichment, access to rigorous test prep and long-term support, these students can secure a seat on the Education to Wealth Pipeline.
Our work continues!
Source: Chalkbeat
Sign up for the 2018 SHSAT by October 11th
I know by now you are working very hard to get ready for the SHSAT coming up in a few weeks. The one thing you don’t want to forget is to REGISTER FOR THE TEST! This year, for the first time, parents are solely responsible for registering their child for the 2018 exam. The link above gives you all the details.
In this post, I wanted to share some commonly asked questions so everyone is clear:
Who is eligible to take the SHSAT?
All current 8th graders, and first-time 9th graders (regardless of whether you go to a public, private, or parochial school in one of the five Boroughs) can sign up to take the SHSAT. Long Island residents are not allowed to sign up to take the exam.
How do homeschooled students sign up?
Visit your family welcome center for the account creation code so you can sign up.
What about Students with IEP’s, 504 plans or English Language Learners?
Make sure you will apply. You will take the exam on a different day on November 3rd or November 18th.
What if you moved to NYC after November 1st?
You will take the SHSAT in August right before 9th grade. You can register at your local Family Welcome Center.