Teachers union president Michael Mulgrew said the city’s proposed changes to elite public high schools’ admissions won’t do enough to combat lopsided enrollment, where very few kids are black or Hispanic.
“It’s what I’m hoping is a first step,” said Mulgrew, who has dispatched union members to a joint task force with the city to move away from the use of a single test for admissions decisions.
“Your grades should count, your extracurricular activities, everything. Because that’s all part of someone’s ability in terms of their academic performance.”
City Education officials issued a request to vendors for a new test Wednesday, including recommendations that the exam contain an essay for the first time and take a more nuanced approach to accounting for racial biases.
An Education Department spokeswoman said the agency is consulting with several sources for help exploring new admissions for the eight top schools.
