Category: Response 6

“In the Paths to education or Litigation for education privilege: New York and San Francisco compared” Floyd M. Hammack talks about the discriminatory policies that can arise out of elite school education process. As a person having attended an “elite school” I can attest that this school provided me with better education opportunities compared to other schools in my district, but I do not think that the specialized high school system was intended to be inherently discriminatory. I think the problem is more prominent in the Los Angeles admission policies for Chinese students that Hammack talked about, and the honors programs that high schools offer in their schools to sprite the students that do well based on their GPA and other education measures. The specialized high school turned out to admit disproportionality Asian and white students, but I believe that it is more fair than other program in that everyone has one shot of applying through a test that does not discriminate based on prior achievements that Maye have been influenced by personal factors. The SHSAT allows all students equal chance to an “elite school” through testing policy that then allows all students in the school to pursue similar academic opportunities in the school.

However, I recognize that there is no equity in the preparation for preparation  and Hammack’s quote., “all education credentials have not been created equal, nor do all citizens have equal access to education opportunities” applies to students preparing for the elite schools admission processes where some students have more resources to prepare for these test, and other have less.

In eighth grade, going through the high school application process, I was one of the few around me that had a real chance at all the opportunities around us, as I did well academically and my parents had money.  I applied for high schools through the NYC Public School system, as well as took the SHSAT examinations, getting into my top choices. Nonetheless, I chose to go to  my private school. There were many reasons for this, but the main ones were that specialized high schools never really impressed me–I could get the same education elsewhere–and that it was an unfair system. The Hammack further justified my view on specialized high schools, one that I did not at first realize I even had.

I, at first, did not realize that I even had a true view on “elite schooling” and its admissions policies because, in many ways I have become desensitized to inequality; I see it so often. In the process of preparing for and taking the SHSAT, I’ve seen so many individuals just as smart–if not smarter–as myself unable to accomplish the same things because they are unable to to properly prepare (due to lack of funds, for example). In a broken system, they are expected to perform the impossible and achieve. The Hammack reading supports this by showing the Chinese admissions policies in Los Angeles. In addition, he also supports my opinion through speaking on the history of the admissions policies continuously being modified and improved, in an attempt to make it more just and equal between races.

What I found most interesting, however, is that this was written almost a decade ago and it is still being addressed and modified. Although on one hand it may be sad that we are still having the same conversations, it is also nice to know that school reform is alive and well, with people continuously fighting to promote change and equal opportunity to all. So although this article only strengthened my opinion about the SHSAT and “elite school”, I hope that as time goes on and more reform takes place, it will change.

Growing up, i had alway valued the idea that all people are given equal opportunity to move up in the world and some simply take better advantage of it then others. as i grew up i realized this was far from true, as my eyes were opened to the rampant discrimination and inequality in educational opportunities. “All educational credentials have not been created equal, nor do all citizens have equal access to educational opportunities. Race, gender, ethnicity, social class, and other background factors remain important in the process of attaining educational credentials” claims Floyd M. Hammack in his article Paths to Legislation or Litigation for Educational Privilege: New York and San Fransisco Compared. This reading agrees with a lot of class discussions we have had on the nature of the opportunity gap for minorities and provides additional insight into the issue by comparing New York City which has been the focus of this course with San Fransisco which we have heard little about before this.

How this article discusses the long history of elite high school acceptance has changed over the years in both New York City and San Fransisco also seems to just add to all we have learned about the history of unequal opportunity caused by discriminatory practices intended to have white christian families and their children monopolize good education.  even up to the modern day, the article points out many issues such as how certain races must score much higher than others to be considered for exclusive high schools, which, while meaning to be accommodating to races typically disenfranchised and with less opportunity to learn, has negatively impacted individuals of races that typically already performed well such as Asians and whites by raising the threshold for them. it almost seems like people are trying to fix the problem at the wrong end of it: rather than ensuring everyone has equal tools to have equal possibility of scoring well on the shsat and thus getting into their high school of choice, races are given different threshold that makes it easier for them to into these selective schools and equality/representation is created almost artificially at the highschool level.

As a student that has experienced both the New York City Public School system as well as the standardized examination to be admitted to a specialized high school, I felt very attached to the subject of elite school admissions. In his article “Paths to Legislation or Litigation for Educational Privilege: New York and San Francisco Compared” Floyd M. Hammack gives a comparison of the history of admissions at exclusive public high schools. Hammock states that “all educational credentials have not been created equal, nor do all citizens have equal access to educational opportunities. Race, gender, ethnicity, social class, and other background factors remain important in the process of attaining educational credentials” (372). The crux of this statement has been a reoccurring theme in our class discussion. Historically, at elite and better funded institutions have always been able to exclude students of a certain social class and race. Intentional or not, these numbers can speak for themselves when considering the demographics of admitted students. Despite the undeniable truth behind these numbers and statistics, I can’t help but dispute the generalization this idea creates on the students that are admitted to elite institutions. There are just too many individual stories to allow a blanket statement to be continually used when referring to student segregation and exclusion. When it came to the SHSAT for admissions, it has become a matter of learning to take a test rather than using prior academic merit as a criteria for admissions. However, I do believe this process is as unbiased as admissions can get from my understanding of school policy.

One example, is that through this test, a student regardless of their grade can still be admitted thanks to the score they receive. Unlike other schools that may take GPA and other academic factors into account, a student that is near failing can get admitted so long as they score above the cutoff for a desired high school. I knew a student in my middle school that did poorly in school but put everything into the SHSAT and was able to attend a specialized high school despite his middle school grades. I also know another student that was economically disadvantaged and used to study from SHSAT workbooks while helping at his family’s restaurant after school. I don’t deny the results of the specialized high school admissions is lopsided, but I do believe that the problem lies not on the SHSAT admissions test itself. Rather, students should be exposed more to what these high schools can offer them. I believe that when a student knows what is being offered, the desire to attend alone, should be enough to earn them a spot in the school.

One thing that changed my idea on school policy was the concept of “White Values” and “Black Values”. Prior to this reading I was not aware that these concepts were an actual cause for concern in schools nor did I know the teacher employment were based on this as well. White values were essentially the idea of teaching students in a way that promoted competition and individual success. Many educators and teachers in New York City felt the pressure of using this ideology to prepare students for the “white world”. “Black Values” on the other hand was more community focused and promoted cooperation and cultural legitimacy of the black poor. I think it was very interesting to read that teachers were removed and replaced based on these set of values. Again, this is another passage that portrays the complexity of school policy and the struggle in making more representative schools.

As a result of preparing for and attending a highly-selective New York City public high school, I can reflect and say that the process to get in seemed more about learning how to take the SHSAT as opposed to learning pure subject material. I agree that specialized high schools should have some selective measure of admitting students, for it they do not, then what would make the school special or elite rather? Floyd M. Hammack describes two different ways in which “rules for access to highly valued public educational credentials have developed,” in his article Paths to Legislation or Litigation for Educational Privilege: New York and San Fransisco Compared (Hammack, 372). I agree with Hammack when he writes that “all educational credentials have not been created equal, nor do all citizens have equal access to educational opportunities” (Hammack, 372). This is also a topic that we have discussed quite a few times in class, specifically pointing out that children living in less privileged area with less income and less access to educational opportunity fall victims to these selection processes.

Before entering this class, I had no idea how seriously admission reforms were taken. This article more so opens my eyes by discussing the steps that New York and San Fransisco public high schools have taken to get to where they are today. I did not know that there was this much racism involved with exclusive schools. I did not know that “hiring ‘appropriate’ teachers” based on race was a thing (Hammack, 379). I was also unaware of the situation in Lowell High school where the Chinese American parents argued that it was unfair that their children have to score higher than any other racial group in order to be admitted. This specific case is interesting to me because it is something I have wondered about. In schools like Stuyvesant, that are predominantly asian, how does the method of admissions account for who it accepts? I have heard of admissions that require different scorings for race, and although one would think it is more fair for the races/ethnic groups that don’t have as many opportunity, it is also unfair to hold the races who do have opportunities to much higher standards.

Hammack’s comparative history of exclusive public high schools in New York and San Fransisco has deepened my view and understanding of how truly difficult it is to come up with an admissions process that guarantees fair entry to each and every ethnic group. I think that not considering race while admitting students was a good step for Judge Orrick to rule in San Fransisco; however, this rule also makes it more difficult to racially balance a school, because if some ethnic groups have less opportunities then they are less likely to do well and be admitted and then the school will mostly be filled of the ethnic group that has more opportunities and dominates the entrance exam (or whatever form of admittance is required). Today Lowell High school just requires grade point averages from seventh grade; meanwhile, New York specialized high schools require just an SHSAT score. Is there a way to get underrepresented and overrepresented ethnic groups to balance out? Perhaps different approaches to changing methods of admittance are not enough and we need to think more outside the box.