Contract for controversial entrance exam into elite NYC public schools granted with panel vote

A five-year, $17 million contract for the company that administers the city’s controversial entrance exam for specialized high schools was finally approved Wednesday after a highly-anticipated, much-delayed vote.The city Department of Education’s Panel for Education Policy voted during its Wednesday night meeting to renew the contract with education company Pearson, which has administered the state-mandated admissions exam for the eight elite schools since 1983.The panel voted 14 to two — with four abstentions — to approve the renewal during the meeting at Sunset Park High School, which was packed with hundreds of students and parents advocating for the continuation of the entrance exam.Students entering into the freshman class of 2026 will now be given a digital version of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test — which is the sole criteria for entry into Gotham’s elite public schools like Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant, and Brooklyn Tech among others.Pearson will also be tasked with developing and administering exams for five test cycles, beginning in October 2025, city documents reveal.The test will eventually adopt a computer-adaptive model — which uses algorithms to personalize a test based on a student’s performance.The PEP vote, which was delayed in October and then again in November, left the close to 30,000 families whose children had prepared for the exam anxious that they’d end up in education limbo.Dozens of supporters of the entrance test spoke ahead of the vote as the meeting extended late into the night.

“[The SHSAT] protects a fair, objective admission process for specialized high schools — institutions that serve as a pathway for successful, hard-working students — many of whom come from immigrant families, like mine, low-income households and underserved communities,” one student testified.Another said the test taught them not just academics but a lesson in dedication and goal-setting.“For me, the SHSAT ...