NYC Education Panel approves contract for computerized specialized high school exam

New York City’s school board voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to approve a contract to computerize the entrance exam to several elite public high schools, ending several months of uncertainty over the test’s immediate future.

Fourteen members of the Panel for Educational Policy, which has authority over Education Department contracts, voted to green-light a 5-year, $17 million contract with the testing company Pearson to digitize the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT, starting next year. Two members voted no, while four abstained.

The vote followed hours of public testimony — the vast majority urging city officials to approve the contract — and several weeks of mounting public debate around the contract. It stirred up a larger fight over the exam, which has long served as a lightning rod for conversations about diversity and admissions in the city’s segregated school system.

Learn more and read the full article here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/12/19/specialized-high-school-computerized-exam-approved-after-debate/