A vote on a contract for the company that administers entrance exams for specialized high schools in New York City has been postponed, raising concerns that the test will not be administered next year and potentially hamper children already preparing for it.
The Education Policy Committee, the city Department of Education's advisory board, was scheduled to vote Wednesday on a new contract with NCS Pearson after delaying an initial decision in October.
But it has now been postponed until at least December, when a city council could be held on the issue, Chalkbeat reported.
More than 2,500 parents signed a letter this week urging PEP to agree to a nearly six-year, $17 million contract and avoid any disruptions to the already complex admissions process.
A letter from parent group PLACE NYC warned that “disapproval of the Pearson contract will leave no other means of administering the test.”
The Specialized High School Admission Test is the only criterion for admission to eight of the city's nine specialized high schools, which enroll more than 16,000 children, according to New York State law.
Pearson has administered the test since 1983, and only a few vendors have the capacity to offer it, according to DOE records.
“The SHSAT remains the last vestige of the once celebrated and respected New York City public education system,” one parent of a seventh-grader in Queens told The Post. “A system that produced legions of scientists, Nobel laureates, business leaders, authors, and playwrights, in a day when merit was the touchstone of achievement.”
The PEP consists of five mayoral appointees, five Community Education Board chair appointees, thirteen members appointed by the mayor and an independent chair.
Its administrative responsibilities include approving any contracts costing more than $1 million annually.
With two open mayoral seats, it is not clear whether there is a majority to approve the probation contract, which has been criticized for being racially biased.
Efforts to phase out the SHSAT have been unsuccessful, but an upcoming City Council session could reignite debate and proposals to reform the admissions process.
Mayor Adams proposed building new specialized high schools in each district.
“We hope the mayor will ensure that the SHSAT is available to the 30,000 students who depend on the opportunity to take the test,” said Yatin Chu, co-president of PLACE NYC, an acronym for Parent Leaders of Curriculum and Accelerated Learning.
Eighth and ninth graders prepare for the exam years in advance and expend significant energy and resources, the citywide high school board said in a decision last week.
“Students’ efforts must be recognized and admission tests must be respected,” she said.
Pearson was bested by only one other vendor and was chosen because of its “smooth, intuitive, and innovative testing platform,” according to DOE documents.
It also offered a lower price and plan to use the digital SHSAT.
