Elite HS confusion Again, no test date

The city Department of Education has again delayed the announcement of a date for the specialized highschool admissions exam — testing the patience of parents and students preparing to take it.

“It’s nonsense,” said Jean Nicholas, whose daughter plans to take the test, which determines entry into eight of the city’s top schools. “My child has been studying for this for years. It’s not acceptable to do this.”

Normally, the test date is listed in a handbook distributed to parents in early June.

But for the second year in a row, those materials had no date and no further guidance has been provided.

Last year, kids had only a few weeks between the test date’s announcement and its administration in January. Prior to the pandemic, the exam was usually given in early November.

“There are thousands of students trying to get into the very same schools that Mayor de Blasio sent his kids to,” said Frances Kweller, founder of Kweller Prep tutoring. “He’s making it impossible to plan. There are close to 30,000 students taking this test.”

De Blasio has been outspoken in calling for an end to the single-test admissions system.

Kweller said parents and students are again frustrated by the delay.

“I’ve been working really hard on this for years,” said one student in Kweller’s program. “Having a date allows you to mentally prepare. ”

The city has blamed upheaval due to COVID-19 for the consecutive postponements.

“Testing will take place later this year, and we look forward to providing exact dates in the fall,” said DOE spokesperson Katie O’Hanlon.

Attorney Marc Held, who filed a suit last year to force the city to schedule the test, rejected that defense and said he’s prepared to take legal action again.

“With schools opening inperson in September, there is no reason why the specialized high-school exam cannot be administered,” he said. “Parents are concerned that similar to last year, this year will be filled with disingenuous attempts to hold the exam in a timely manner, if at all.”

The test has become a bitter political flashpoint, with opponents saying it provides a narrow measure of student talent and has resulted in minimal black and Hispanic enrollment at top schools like Stuyvesant HS and Bronx Science.

Backers say it provides a raw assessment of preparation and has served as an educational foothold for many low-income immigrants.