Bill de Blasio's Efforts to Increase Diversity in These Schools Led to Lowered Admissions Standards without Achieving Greater Diversity

For more than a century, New York City's eight specialized public high schools have symbolized American meritocracy. Admissions are based solely on the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), designed to identify intellectual potential independent of socioeconomic background, offering students from all boroughs equal opportunity to attend these prestigious schools. However, this meritocratic system has been under strain.

In 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the specialized high schools, which predominantly enroll white and Asian students, for a perceived "diversity problem," attributing it to the SHSAT. Initially, he sought to eliminate the exam entirely, but the state Legislature blocked the move. Instead, in fall 2019, he expanded the Discovery Program, which allocates remaining seats to students who scored below the SHSAT cutoff of the city's least competitive specialized high school.

Six years later, data show the program has failed to meet its goals. Admission standards have dropped significantly, yet racial diversity has barely shifted. According to recently released information from a 2024 Freedom of Information Law request, students entering through the Discovery Program scored far lower on the SHSAT than those admitted through the standard process.

At Stuyvesant High School, the city's most selective school, the minimum SHSAT score for Discovery Program students lagged substantially behind regular admittees. For example, in fall 2018, 20 students admitted via the program scored 481, just below the 482 cutoff of the least competitive specialized school, Brooklyn Latin, and 78 points below Stuyvesant's regular threshold. By fall 2020, over 150 students were admitted through Discovery, widening the gap between regular and program-admitted students to 100 points.

The program has also fallen short of its diversity goals. When the initiative was announced in June 2018, officials projected 16% of Discovery offers would go to Black and Latino students. In fall 2018, only 6% of students were Hispanic and 4% were Black, despite these groups comprising 23% and 20% of test-takers. Today, the combined percentage of Hispanic and Black students admitted remains at 10%. At Stuyvesant, Hispanic and Black enrollment barely improved, moving from a combined 4.1% in 2018 to just 3.5% this fall.

In September 2024, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that showing aggregate disparate impact on Asian-American test-takers is unnecessary for an Equal Protection claim if discriminatory intent is present. Given that de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza explicitly aimed for racial impact, legal defenses may be limited.

Under incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the expanded Discovery Program is expected to continue. Although he rescinded calls to eliminate the SHSAT, he has not indicated plans to reverse the program, and with moves to end the gifted and talented kindergarten program, the specialized high schools academic rigor appears at risk. Over six years, the Discovery Program's main outcome has been weakening meritocracy and admitting a growing number of students who would not have met traditional standards.

Author: Natalie Monroe