You are reading

DOE Moving Foward With Its New High School Admissions Process, Angering Some Queens Pols

Schools Chancellor David Banks will not change the city’s new high school admissions process (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

March 10, 2022 By Allie Griffin

The Department of Education is pushing ahead with its controversial new admissions process for the city’s top high schools — angering some Queens officials as a result.

Schools Chancellor David Banks announced Wednesday that he has decided against any last-minute changes to the admissions process after suggesting last week that he was considering tweaking it to appease upset parents.

The new policy lowers the academic requirements to get into the city’s most selective high schools in an effort to increase diversity. Students with solid B averages will have the same chance of getting into the top public schools as straight-A students.

The admissions process, introduced by the de Blasio administration in December, places students into four tiers based on their grades from seventh and eighth grade. Students with A and B grades are placed in the top tier and given first priority in a lottery for the seats.

Critics of the change — including lawmakers in Queens — argue that by lumping so many students in the top tier it minimizes the achievements of high-performing students when they apply for a spot in the city’s most coveted schools.

“It is unfair to high-achieving students to be placed in one of four tiers and then be required to enter a lottery to get into the high school of their choice,” Flushing Council Member Sandra Ung said in a statement.

Under the new system, students who have received grades as low as 65 to 75 in some classes can be placed in the top tier alongside those who earn 90s and above in all their classes, according to the New York Post.

Banks has stressed that he inherited the new policy from the prior administration and has recognized the concerns of some parents who are confused and anxious by the changes. Nonetheless, he decided against changing the new policy just days before applications are due to avoid further confusion.

Queens State Sen. John Liu, who chairs the Senate Committee on NYC Education, said Banks took “the easy way out” by deciding to keep the program in place.

Council Member Sandra Ung (Sandra for New York)

“Chancellor Banks rightly notes that the admissions process this year is rife with uncertainty, confusion and anxiety,” Liu said in a statement. “Unfortunately, he wrongly decides to uphold that system, only adding to the frustration and disappointment of parents and students who were hoping to apply to their high school of choice based on their pursuit of excellence.”

The admissions change is expected to increase the number of Black and Latino students by 13 percent at competitive schools, according to the DOE.

It has the support of some parents and educational advocacy groups who want to see more diverse classrooms. However, other parents and critics say it will disadvantage students who studied hard to earn straight As, such as many Asian students vying for a seat.

They say the top group of the four lottery groups has too many students — thus rendering students with the highest grades a smaller chance of getting accepted into their top choices.

Ung said the DOE is ignoring these parents’ worries.

“These changes were made without any input from parents, and I am deeply disappointed to learn today that the Department of Education has ignored the concerns of stakeholders and will go forward with this ill-conceived plan,” she said Wednesday.

The high school admissions deadline is Friday.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

3 Comments

Click for Comments 
Harry Ramos

Penalize the productive to appease the unproductive. Take from the haves and give to the ones who take the most and contribute the least. Seems to be the overall theme among Democrats. I hope these students understand that they’re diminishing their effort and deterring students to work harder if it amounts to the same result as a person who does not excel. If they do this with your grades, wait until reality hits you and see them doing it with your income. Remember this when you vote.

Reply
paul

Far left pols. never learn. They almost destroyed the CUNY system back in 1970 with open admissions, a version of what they are doing here.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it for minority privilege politics. An equal shot is good for all, minority privilege is not.

Reply
Ira Birnbaum

Basically what the DOE is implying is that black people are not as intelligent as everyone else so they will lower their standards to accommodate. EVERYONE should be outraged at this. This is not addressing the issue this is simply insulting.

10
Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens Together launches ‘Unofficial US Open Dining Guide’ encouraging fans to sample restaurants along the 7 line

Aug. 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The US Open returns to Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, with more than 1 million attendees anticipated to take mass transit to the iconic annual tennis event. With hundreds of thousands of fans set to take the 7 out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, there is a world of delicious local eateries lying beneath the elevated train tracks should any fan wish to stop en-route to the US Open.

Can Queens’ food scene thrive with both trucks and restaurants?

Aug. 19, 2025 By Jessica Militello

In Jackson Heights at 4 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, Roosevelt Avenue is buzzing with energy as commuters file in and out of subway cars and onto the street and cars and trucks grapple to get down the busy road. The street is filled with rows of shops and restaurants, along with food carts, street vendors and food trucks along the avenue. The almost-but-not-quite the weekend lag leaves hungry commuters faced with another choice to make throughout their day and the array of food truck options in busy areas like Jackson Heights offers customers convenience and delicious food without breaking the bank, two features that can feel vital, particularly with rising costs of living and pressure from inflation.