Committees of the New York City Bar Association sent a statement to School Chancellor Richard Carranza opposing the use of competitive admissions to elementary and junior high schools.
They said:
- Measures of young children’s ability and behavior through competitive admission screening and testing are unreliable and racially biased.
- Competitive admissions for very young children are pedagogically unsound because research demonstrates that all children derive educational and social benefits from diverse classrooms with students of differing races, economic status, and learning ability.
- The practice of excluding the majority of certain socioeconomic and racial groups of young children from a large percentage of public institutions is inequitable and conducive to racial hierarchy.
Such policies, they said, are incompatible with the goal of equal educational opportunity, because opportunities are denied based on flawed measures.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Nefarious. The power elite want to ensure that the schools are serrated, and that their scions w ill get a good education and everyone else will be wage-slaves, unable to do the work required in this century.
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The power elite are truly SICK people. I bet they are really “empty, vapid, and sick” inside their outer shells … like rotten eggs.
And Jim Crow is well and alive.
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I posted thihttps://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/New-York-City-Bar-Associa-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Diane-Ravitch-190503-895.html#comment732769
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https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/New-York-City-Bar-Associa-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Diane-Ravitch-190503-895.html#comment732769
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This would not work in states where there are talent-oriented magnet and specialty schools with admission conditional on a portfolio or an audition… and there are ambitious stage parents (e.g., Mame). Talent in these schools, and especially in the perfoming arts, kids are launched on careers with a schedule that sometimes includes regional theater or Broadway.
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Is that the case for K-8 schools?
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there are some middle schools like that in NYC. PPAS, for one.
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I find it ironic that an organization / profession that relies on high stakes standardized tests for both entry (LSAT) and exit/re-entry (the Bar exam) is putting this out.
Before other commentators get all in an uproar this is not a commentary on whether I agree with their position or not.
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Mike,
Could you clarify how using the LSAT as one of many factors in law school admissions contradicts these statements?
Measures of young children’s ability and behavior through competitive admission screening and testing are unreliable and racially biased.
Competitive admissions for very young children are pedagogically unsound because research demonstrates that all children derive educational and social benefits from diverse classrooms with students of differing races, economic status, and learning ability.
This isn’t about 22 or 25 year old adults. This is about very young children. I don’t see any irony in their statement but if I am missing something that you see, I am interested to hear it.
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Clearly, the New York Bar Association understands that exclusionary educational practice works against certain segments of the population, particularly in the younger grades. As someone that taught elementary ELLs for many years, I worked to ensure that all students get access and opportunity afforded to most students. It is unfair to try to pigeonhole young students, particularly those that come from poverty and/ or cultural differences. Some students are late bloomers as children do not mature at the same rate. I have seen vast changes in secondary students that are very different from the students I knew in elementary school. All children deserve a chance to mature and grow at their own pace. They should not be forced into some type of artificial mold or preconceived trajectory.
Elementary schools in my opinion need to provide a wide net of opportunity for all students. In addition to academics young students are learning social-emotional skills that are best learned in the company of diverse of students. This does not mean that individual differences should be ignored. Students’ interests and natural gifts should be honored, and skilled teachers know very well how to do this.
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The differences in development is a big concern. The younger the group of children the larger the disparity. There is a huge difference in development between a kindergartner who turns six in September and the child who turned 5 in August. Acedemics is only one portion of the puzzle. This issue shows up again in high school sports. Older students.are larger in size and have a full extra year of practice than younger students. Older students are more likely to be chosen for the school’s elite sports teams, hold student body office, get leading roles in school theater productions and earlier birthdates improve their social status because they drive sooner. Competition for places in schools creates a real,problem for students with later birthdays. Read the book “Outliers.” It really clarifies this issue.
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for Diane and others : The following is edited for length.
“The School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) is a K-12 pre-professional arts and academic college preparatory school. Artistically, we prepare students for continued university and conservatory studies, apprenticeships, and/or professional experience. Academically, we prepare serious students for continued college and university studies in the humanities, liberal arts and sciences.
In addition to serving a student population with traditional needs, SCPA serves students with Individualized Education Plans and students who have been identified by Cincinnati Public Schools as gifted and talented.”
Criteria for Acceptance into SCPA: 1. Demonstration of artistic talent and ability in one or more of the seven artistic disciplines in the SCPA curriculum. SCPA artistic faculty members evaluate talent. 2.Demonstration of exemplary school behavior, discipline and attendance at the applicant’s current and former schools. 3. Demonstration of a positive and enthusiastic attitude toward learning and an ability to work cooperatively with others.
SCPA Admission Process for Students Entering Grades K-3
Applications for Cincinnati Public Schools residents into SCPA at kindergarten through third grade …are submitted via CPS’ online magnet school application lottery. No audition is required for students applying for grades K-3.
HOWEVER….
At grade 3, SCPA students must audition to enter a major course of arts study at grade 4, including students who entered SCPA through the online magnet school application lottery at grades K-3. If the student is not successful on audition day, SCPA will offer additional opportunities to audition annually through grade 6.
SCPA Admission Process for Students Entering Grades 4-12
— Complete and submit your application to SCPA by (date)
— The school will notify you …of audition dates and times.
— Bring the completed audition preparation packet and requested artistic supporting materials (i.e. creative writing portfolio, technical theater questionnaire) to your audition. Students who arrive late to the audition may not be able to audition. Students who miss their audition will need to wait to audition for the following school year.
Students will audition for the SCPA artistic faculty. Parents are not permitted in the audition area.
If accepted to SCPA,… the registration packet and the student/parent contract must be fully completed and returned in person to SCPA by the parent/guardian in order for the student to be registered at the school.
Important Notes
Arrive to your audition at least 15 minutes early. There are (7) Artistic Departments at The School for Creative and Performing Arts:
Creative Writing, Dance, Drama, Instrumental Music, Technical Theater (Scenic, Lighting, and Costuming,) Visual Arts, and Vocal Music.
Students entering Grades 4-6 are required to audition in ALL talent areas (except Technical Theater).
Students entering Grades 7-12 are only required to audition in one category but may audition for all categories.
Students may audition only once during a school year.
Students who are not accepted to SCPA may re-apply and audition again the following academic year.
There arre special rules and fees for out-of-district students.
More at https://scpa.cps-k12.org/enroll/applications
Governance in this school has been a problem, especially who chooses the “Artistic Faculty.” This following has a long account of the history and the “fame” factor, including payments to the school by the entertainment industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_for_Creative_and_Performing_Arts
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Bizarre!
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I left untouched language that echoes Eva’s non-nonsense ethos.
Lots of stage moms and dads and deep pocket art supporters back the school.
As usual in these “all the arts” talent-oriented schools, the more solitary arts–visual arts and literature/poetry–are less contentious and less conspicuously driven by the fame factor.
In a separate venue for after-school arts programming the benefactor in chief expected to see elementary school children create works of art suitable for a NY gallery show. No respectable art teacher worked there for very long.
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I’d say sick more than bizarre.
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If I were a black or brown parent, I would say that calling the SHSAT “racially biased” is an insult to the intelligence of my children. Believing that minority students cannot pass a rigorous, high stakes entrance exam just perpetuates the stereotype.
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Everyone makes judgments but no one looks at the actual work that is happening at these schools. It’s all political – none of it educational.
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If the G&T school follows an advanced curriculum and advanced curriculum materials in comparison to an honors class at another school, then you need a separate building.
It is not realistic or fair to ask teachers to prepare for that many different levels of work. We are not talking about modifying the work or creating extension assignments. The curriculum and materials should look just as different as a 12:1 class compared to an honors class.
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How do you think charter schools became successful in NYC? Remove the G&T programs in those districts and replace them with charter schools.
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27 yrs ago many Bkln nbrs our age w/soon-to-be-school-age children were eying NJ. We were loathe to move & our local elemschs were good. But the the crack epidemic was on & the grounds of the local midschs were strewn w/needles; we knew we couldn’t afford 3 priv midsch tuitions to patch us thro, & had no interest in the city’s multiple applications for far-flung hischs anyway. So back then the nbhd consensus was: Montclair! It was culturally similar. The weird thing about Montclair was, publicschs were 100% magnet. It was their way of desegregating, & was pretty successful. But 100% magnet meant you had to choose a “specialty” field for your kid entering kindergarten! I was dragging my feet anyway because I really wanted the walk-to-your-nbhdsch ideal, which was not Montclair. Our home sale hit hiccups delaying it until April. I checked in w/Montclair public schools & found our eldest had only one option at that point: enter K at the science-tech-specialty school! [We found a different town…]
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