Doing Right by NYC’s Elite Schools

Give Mayor de Blasio and schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña this much: They’ve evidently decided not to destroy the city’s elite public high schools.

The issue is something that bothers everyone: Relatively few black and Hispanic kids pass the competitive exam to win entry into Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and the other “selective” high schools.

For decades, some have pushed to just water down the test, or otherwise fudge entry standards, to “fix” that problem.

But any such “reform” risks robbing these schools of the excellence they’re known for. Far better, we’ve argued, to help minority kids overcome the education deficit imposed by the city’s substandard K-8 schools.

It seems the city Department of Education is doing the right thing. This week it announced plans to extend its contract —$13.4 million over six years — with the testing firm Pearson to provide a sound entry exam for the specialized schools.

At the same time, DOE reported fresh efforts to recruit under-represented students for free test-prep classes. It’s also giving the test on a midweek school day in October for high-achieving students at seven high-poverty, under-represented middle schools.

This is true “affirmative action” — boosting opportunity without watering down standards. And more’s possible: Larry Cary of the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation suggests offering help to kids who don’t meet the income cutoff, but still suffer by being stuck at low-performing middle schools.

At odds as we are with the mayor on so many fronts, we’re glad to share this common goal: To see more qualified, well-prepared minority students earning admission to the elite high schools — without compromising those schools’ high standards.