New York City has long had a significant means of sorting and labeling students. When Michael Bloomberg became mayor, he expanded the number of selective middle schools. It’s not clear whether he was trying to lure white parents to stay in the city or whether he was a dyed-in-the-wool believer in test-based meritocracy.
Whatever the case, New York City has large numbers of selective middle schools. The New York City Bar Association, through its Civil Rights and Education and Law committees, issued a call to eliminate selective admissions in middle schools.
For what it’s worth, when I attended public schools in Houston, Texas, many years ago, there were no selective schools. I attended my neighborhood elementary school, junior high school, and high school.
Things have changed. For better or worse?
Contact: Eric Friedman
Eli Cohen
PERMANENTLY ELIMINATE COMPETITIVE ADMISSIONS TO NEW YORK CITY MIDDLE-SCHOOLS
Chancellor Banks and the New York City Department of Education Should Not Reinstate Screens
New York, September 19, 2022 – The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), through its Civil Rights and Education and the Law Committees,[1] renews its calls for the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to eliminate competitive admissions to the City’s public middle schools. We are concerned by reports that DOE is considering reinstating the screens for middle school students and we urge that this practice not be restored.
The City Bar first called for the elimination of competitive admissions for the City’s public elementary and middle schools during the de Blasio Administration, arguing that the policy unnecessarily segregates our students, schools and educational programs, leaving some students without the opportunity for enriched learning that all of our children deserve.[2] In support of those conclusions, our letters noted that:
- 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 backgrounds and learning abilities.
- The practice of excluding the majority of certain socioeconomic and racial groups of young children from a large percentage of public institutions, through the use of middle school screens was inequitable, conducive to racial hierarchy and inconsistent with our democratic ideals.[3]
It would be deeply problematic to reinstate middle school screens and allow public schools and programs within schools that opt for that process to effectively close their doors to the majority of students. Student-assignment methods for middle school should take into account the characteristics of individual students only for the purpose of achieving balanced and equitable access for all students – not for the disproportionate exclusion of historically disadvantaged groups.
For all the reasons outlined in our previous letters, and as was most recently argued in the New York Appleseed’s September 16 letter,[4] the City Bar calls on Schools Chancellor David Banks and DOE to permanently end the use of middle school screens.
[1] The Civil Rights Committee addresses issues affecting the civil rights of New Yorkers, especially the rights of marginalized communities. The Education and the Law Committee addresses K-12 and higher education, and legal and policy education issues affecting the city, state, and nation. Both Committees’ memberships include attorneys from state and local government agencies, law firms, not-for-profit organizations, and law-school faculty. Education and the Law members also include K-12 educators and education consultants. Committee members are acting in their respective individual capacities as members of the City Bar, not in their professional or academic roles.
2 “Eliminate Competitive Admissions to NYC Public Elementary & Middle Schools,” New York City Bar Association, May 1, 2019, https://www.nycbar.org/member-and-career-services/committees/reports-listing/reports/detail/eliminate-competitive-admissions-to-nyc-public-elementary-and-middle-schools; see also “Letter in Support of Eliminating Competitive Admissions in NYC’s Public Elementary and Middle Schools,” New York City Bar Association, Nov. 1, 2019, https://www.nycbar.org/member-and-career-services/committees/reports-listing/reports/detail/letter-in-support-of-eliminating-competitive-admissions-in-nycs-public-elementary-and-middle-schools.
3 Please note that we do not include in these recommendations programs or schools in which facility with a certain language or demonstrated capability in the Arts is a prerequisite.
4 Letter to Chancellor David C. Banks, NYC. Dept. of Education, “Call to Permanently End Middle-School Screens,” NY Appleseed, Sept. 16, 2022, https://www.nyappleseed.org/wp-content/uploads/LetterToChancellorBanks_-End-MS-Screens-Permanently_Sept22.pdf.
About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has over 23,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org
[1] The Civil Rights Committee addresses issues affecting the civil rights of New Yorkers, especially the rights of marginalized communities. The Education and the Law Committee addresses K-12 and higher education, and legal and policy education issues affecting the city, state, and nation. Both Committees’ memberships include attorneys from state and local government agencies, law firms, not-for-profit organizations, and law-school faculty. Education and the Law members also include K-12 educators and education consultants. Committee members are acting in their respective individual capacities as members of the City Bar, not in their professional or academic roles.
[2] “Eliminate Competitive Admissions to NYC Public Elementary & Middle Schools,” New York City Bar Association, May 1, 2019, https://www.nycbar.org/member-and-career-services/committees/reports-listing/reports/detail/eliminate-competitive-admissions-to-nyc-public-elementary-and-middle-schools; see also “Letter in Support of Eliminating Competitive Admissions in NYC’s Public Elementary and Middle Schools,” New York City Bar Association, Nov. 1, 2019, https://www.nycbar.org/member-and-career-services/committees/reports-listing/reports/detail/letter-in-support-of-eliminating-competitive-admissions-in-nycs-public-elementary-and-middle-schools.
[3] Please note that we do not include in these recommendations programs or schools in which facility with a certain language or demonstrated capability in the Arts is a prerequisite.
[4] Letter to Chancellor David C. Banks, NYC. Dept. of Education, “Call to Permanently End Middle-School Screens,” NY Appleseed, Sept. 16, 2022, https://www.nyappleseed.org/wp-content/uploads/LetterToChancellorBanks_-End-MS-Screens-Permanently_Sept22.pdf.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
It is the same here. The two older girls had to be tested by a psychologist and recommendations from the nursery school…and then there was a weighted lottery. Both won acceptance. If they are there when the sibling is ready, the sibling will receive an automatic pass into the school. Now they are tested of course in the school. Last year, they tried to convince Scott and Suzanne to move Marissa to a higher level special higher advanced school because of her testing. Since she is functioning at a very happy level socially at this school, they passed. This year due to last year’s testing at the end of the year, they moved her to an advance Math class at her school. They create worse pressure than ever at a younger age. Walter “Sandy” Silvers
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Excellent point. The kids didn’t ask for the pressure.
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No.
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The notion of competition in education is toxic. Grades should be eliminated too.
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NO!
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Great. . .now every supe adminimal in the country will be implementing this crap.
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From a parent perspective, the question is personal. How can I make sure my kid is taught by someone who is committed to their students and their subject; who brings a passion to their teaching?
Scarcity in funding and extracurricular demands often means teachers not proficient in a subject are asked to teach the subject. To prevent complaints, these are usually classes of students who are difficult to teach. For various reasons, they arrive in class unready to learn. Teachers burn out trying. Good teachers are given students ready to learn. The rest are passed to new teachers and those who are tired of trying.
Parents confronting this reality are rewarded with programs that attempt to control for student motivation. These programs arise because we do not fund schools with the necessary teaching positions to get the job done. All students deserve good instruction, and perhaps the most difficult students to teach need the best teachers.
When will we fund schools?
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In my opinion, they should put kindergarteners in a coliseum with swords and shields and let them battle it out amongst themselves.
The ones left standing would then be allowed into the special schools.
This would save a lot of money, of course because we would no longer have to worry about having non-special schools, since there would be no students to populate them.
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The Kindergarten Hunger Games.
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I will repeat an old personal experience that I think is still relevant 60 years later. When I was in 7th grade, my school district started a pilot Spanish program which we had to test into. I didn’t make the cut unbeknownst to my parents, who had specifically requested that I not be included if I didn’t make the cut. My father was President of the school board and the superintendent and his family were a personal friends. I finished the year second only to the superintendent’s daughter, who had lived in a Spanish speaking country. It will be of no surprise to anyone that I always did much better in classes of subjects that I liked. If I had had to test for everything, it probably would have been fairly clear that I do better than test scores would predict. Since then I have learned more about the way I learn, which surely would have helped to understand while I was teaching.
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Should there be selective middle schools for football? It would be good for the NFL, but…
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I am uncomfortable with select admission schools l, period. Public education’s strength is getting lots of different people, of all backgrounds, cultures, socioeconomic statuses, etc. to work together.
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