New York City Department of Education to soon announce new middle and high school admissions rules – New York Daily News

The New York City Department of Education will roll out controversial new rules for middle and high school admissions “within the next few days,” said school principal David Banks.

The rules governing admission to the city’s middle and high schools have been in flux since the pandemic began, with former Mayor de Blasio calling for abolition of “screening” such as cutoffs for middle school grades and test scores, and for high school admissions. Reducing the importance of top grades. student.

De Blasio has also discontinued its Intra-District High School Priority Program for students living in Manhattan’s Second District, which straddles Lower Manhattan and Upper East Side.

The pandemic reforms were welcomed by many advocates and families.

According to the DOE, enrollment results over the past two years show that many of the city’s top schools are increasing numbers of black, Latinx, and low-income students.

Critics of the change, however, argue that they punished high-performing students and prevented them from accessing well-rewarding programs, and have called for the screens to be put back in place.

Petitions for a duel have been circulating in recent weeks.

One, sponsored by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, called for a “full return to screened school admissions standards,” from 3,800 parents, according to a copy of an appeal sent to the bank. We have collected signatures.

The opposition petition, led by the group New York Appleseed and signed by 400 parents and 39 organizations, calls for the “permanent removal of screens in middle schools across the city.”

“We’ve heard about this issue from a wide range of groups,” Banks said at a meeting of the Education Policy Panel on Wednesday, promising that “we’re making many improvements in response to the feedback we’ve heard.”

However, he acknowledged that any solution would inevitably invite criticism.

“We have to be very clear that wherever this lands, there will be a lot of parents who love it and a lot of parents who don’t.” There are people who are on the exact opposite side of the

Many of the traditional means used by elite high schools to select students, such as state test scores and grades, have been largely upended by the pandemic. But with state exams back in full swing and city grading systems back to pre-pandemic rules, some parents and advocates argue admissions should reopen. .

But critics argue that even in the best of times, metrics like grades, attendance and test scores are imperfect measurements, and many students are still struggling with the effects of the pandemic.