NYC Schools Makes Significant Change to Admissions Process to Address Segregation

Big changes to the New York City middle and high school admission process are underway, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday morning. Middle schools will pause their screening processes for one year and high schools will eliminate geographic priority for the next two years, with the goal of giving a greater portion of the city a chance to attend any NYC high school.

Middle school screens historically include state exams from years past, which schools do not have due to testing cancelations. If the schools were to use data from the school year before that—for example rising sixth graders would be judged off of their test scores from when they were 7 or 8 years old—it wouldn't be fair to those students, said Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza. 

Geographic screening has historically kept too many students out of the high schools of their choice. By eliminating geographic priority in high schools, students won't be limited to the high schools where they live. Schools that choose to continue to use academic or other screens will use the previous years state tests, grades, and the grades from the first part of last year. All schools will be required to publicly post their rubric and criteria used to rank students on MySchools. DOE Central will run the ranking process to ensure that it is faster, more fair, and more transparent.