>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO
"METRO FOCUS."
I'M RAFAEL PI RAMON.
IN HIGH SCHOOL ONE TEST, THE
SHSAT DETERMINES WHO GETS IN
AND WHO GETS REJECTED.
SOME POLITICS THINKS IT'S TIME
TO CHANGE THAT.
MAYOR DE BLASIO SAYS IT IS A
BARRIER TO STUDENTS WHO CAN'T
AFFORD TEST PREP AND TUTORS.
IT WOULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
LATINOS AND BLACKS AND DECREASE
THE NUMBER OF ASIAN STUDENTS AND
MINORITY GROUP THAT HAS BECOME
THE MAJORITY IN THESE SCORES
BECAUSE THEY CONSISTENTLY SCORE
WELL ON STANDARDIZED TESTS.
A COUNCIL MEMBER HAS PROPOSED
HER OWN PLANS FOR THE ELITE
SCHOOLS AND JOINS US NOW FOR THE
FUTURE OF THE S.H.S.A.T.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU.
>> ASSEMBLY MEMBER, PLEASE GIVE
US YOUR BILL OF ATTACKERS
AGAINST THE S.H.S.A.T. AND TELL
US ABOUT YOUR OWN PROPOSAL TO
DIVERSIFY THE ELITE SCHOOLS.
>> FIRST, THANK YOU FOR HAVING
ME.
WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE WE HAVE 67%
BLACK AND LATINOS ATTENDING THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
ONLY 9% ARE GETTING INTO THESE
ELITE SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS.
SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO, WE WANT
TO HAVE EQUAL ACCESS ACROSS NEW
YORK CITY.
WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE THIS
PROGRAM EQUAL AND FAIR.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF BLACK AND
LATINO STUDENTS WHO ARE
EXCELLING BUT THEY'RE JUST NOT
APPLYING, NOT TAKING THE TESTS,
MANY OF THEM ARE NOT AWARE THEY
COULD EVEN TAKE THE TEST.
WE'RE PROPOSING THAT WE DO AWAY
WITH THE TEST, AND IF NOT, MAKE
THE TEST NOT BE THE ONLY
SINGULAR REQUIREMENT TO GET INTO
THE SCHOOLS.
>> HOW DO YOU RESPOND THOSE WHO
SAY THAT IF YOU ELIMINATE THE
SHSAT, OR WATER IT DOWN, THAT
ACADEMIC STANDARDS WOULD
DECREASE IN THESE SCHOOLS?
>> THEY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT
THE TEST SHOULD NOT BE THE SOLE
REQUIREMENT.
THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND AND LOOK
AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS LIKE
HARVARD, HARVARD LAW, THE
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, THEY'RE
NOT EVEN LOOKING AT THESE
STANDARDIZED TESTS, THEY'RE
LOOKING AT A MORE HOLISTIC
PROCESS.
THEY WANT A WELL-ROUNDED STUDENT
WHO CAN BRING VALUE TO THE
SCHOOL.
SO, I DON'T THINK ELIMINATING
THE TEST OR EVEN MAKING THE TEST
A PERCENTAGE, WHICH IS ALSO ONE
OF MY PROPOSALS, MAYBE 20% OF
THE WHOLE APPLICATION PROCESS,
WOULD BE WATERING DOWN
NECESSARILY THE TEST.
THEY HAVE TO COME UP TO SPEED
WITH WHERE OUR COUNTRY IS AT
TODAY.
>> AS I SAID IN THE
INTRODUCTION, YOUR PROPOSAL, THE
MAYOR'S PROPOSAL, THEY WOULD ALL
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LATINOS
AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND
DECREASE ASIAN-AMERICANS.
THEY SAY YOU'RE PITTING
MINORITIES AGAINST EACH OTHER.
>> FOR ONE, WE ARE ALL ONE.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE MANY MEMBERS OF
OUR COMMUNITY, IN PARTICULAR THE
ASIAN-AMERICANS, THEY HAD NO
CHOICE TO START A SYSTEM THEY
HAD TO PRACTICE PRACTICE
PRACTICE.
THEY HAD NO CHOICE BECAUSE AGAIN
THEY, TOO, ARE BEING
DISCRIMINATED.
THEY FOUND A WAY TO TAKE THE
TEST.
WE DO NOT WANT TO ENCOURAGE
PARENTS OR STUDENTS TO BUILD
THEIR WHOLE LIFE LEARNING CYCLE
AROUND PREPPING FOR A TEST.
WE WANT EACH CHILD TO HAVE REAL
LIFE EXPERIENCE.
>> FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, LET ME
MOVE ON TO ANOTHER BIG CONCERN
OR CRITICISM.
SOME PEOPLE SAY, WITH ALL ITS
PROFOUND PROBLEMS, ADMIT TANS TO
THE SHSAT, IS AT LEAST AN
OBJECTIVE CRITERIA, THAT IF YOU
BEGIN TO INTERSJECT OBJECTIVE
HOLISTIC CRITERIA IT CAN BE
MANIPULATED TO EXCLUDE SOME
PEOPLE AND ALLOW SOME PEOPLE IN
AS HAPPENED IN THE '20s AND
'30s, THE NUMBERS OF JEWS WERE
BEGINNING TO INCREASE IN THE IVY
LEAGUE SCHOOLS AND HAD A
STANDARDIZED TEST BECAUSE THEY
WERE PASSING MORE AND SUDDENLY
THEY CREATED OTHER CRITERIA AS
THE BASIS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER
OF JEWS.
IT'S THE SAME THING PEOPLE ARE
SAYING HARVARD WAS DOING TO THE
ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, A
LAWSUIT ABOUT THAT.
ISN'T THERE A BETTER WAY?
>> I THINK RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO
ADDRESS THE CURRENT CRISIS, A
HUGE DISPARITY.
YOU CAN'T HAVE ONLY 10 STUDENTS
TO BE ADMITTED WHO ARE BLACK AND
LATINO.
>> 10% OUT OF 60%.
>> MAKES NO SENSE.
>> THERE'S A PROBLEM.
>> I DON'T THINK SO.
I THINK A LOT OF THESE STUDENTS
WHO HAVEN'T BEEN OFFERED THE
OPPORTUNITY TO BE AT THESE
SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS DOING
VERY WELL MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE
RESOURCES, THE FUNDS.
THEY DO COMPARE WELL IN SOME OF
THE ASIAN COMMUNITY, WHICH IS
TRUE, THERE IS A VALUE SYSTEM
THAT'S IN PLACE IN CERTAIN AREAS
WHERE IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN,
YOU HAVE A HIGH EVICTION RATE,
RACIAL PROFILING, A LOT OF
DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICESES
CONSTANTLY IN THE BLACK AND
LATINO AREAS.
>> LET ME PROPOSE AND OTHERS
AGREE WITH YOU 100% OF THE TEST
AS IT IS.
THEY SAY THEIR ALTERNATIVES TO
ELIMINATING, THINGS YOU CAN DO.
JUST INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
THESE SPECIALIZED SCHOOLS.
DOUBLE THEM OR TRIPLE THEM.
THAT'S ONE.
ANOTHER IS PROVIDE PREP TEST
COURSES AND TUTORS TO ALL
STUDENTS ACROSS THE PUBLIC
SCHOOL SYSTEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE ARE TWO
EXAMPLES.
THREE IS FOR THE KIDS WHO DON'T
EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE TEST, GIVE
THE TEST TO ALL THE STUDENTS
DURING REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS.
YOU DON'T THINK ANY ONE OF THOSE
PROPOSALS ANSWER THAT?
>> RAFAEL, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT
WE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF
SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS FROM
FOUR TO NINE AND STILL WE'RE AT
9%.
IN TERMS OF FIXING THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL, THAT'S A LONG TERM GAIN.
WE NEED TO ADDRESS THE CRISIS
RIGHT NOW.
THE TEST IS CULTURE ALIBI AS,
ANOTHER ISSUE.
>> WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
>> IT'S WRITTEN SUBJECTIVELY.
SOMETIMES THE WAY THINGS ARE
PHRASED, YOU KNOW, STUDENTS IN
CERTAIN AREAS MAY NOT UNDERSTAND
HOW YOU WORD THIS OR PHRASE
THIS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THAT MAY BE A PROBLEM.
>> WE'RE ALMOST OUT OF TIME.
LET ME ASK THE QUESTION WHICH
YOU ALLUDED TO, NO MATTER HOW
DIVERSIFIED YOU MAKE THESE ILL
LIT SCHOOLS, IT'S STILL ONLY --
ILL
ELITE SCHOOLS, IT'S STILL ONLY
5% OF THE POPULATION.
WE GO BACK TO WHAT DO WE DO TO
IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION
TO IMPROVE THE EXCELLENCE OF ALL
STUDENTS.
>> IT TAKES A WHOLE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
THAT'S HOUSING, ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, HEALTHCARE.
EVERYTHING AROUND OUR
NEIGHBORHOODS REALLY IMPACT THE
SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVE.
FOR MANY MANY YEARS BEFORE THE
DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION, WE HAD
PREVIOUS MAYORS WHO KILLED
INSTITUTIONALLY AND SEGREGATED
OUR SCHOOLS EVEN MORE THAN IT
IS.
DE BLASIO UNFORTUNATELY CAME IN
WITH A MESS AND HE'S FIXING
THAT.
HIS GOAL AND OUR GOAL IS TO
ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY AND TARGET
ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLS ACROSS THE
BOARD, WHITE, BLACK, ASIAN,
LATINO, WHATEVER, EVERYBODY WILL
HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO, TOP
7%, GO TO THESE SPECIALIZED HIGH
SCHOOLS.
>> WE'RE ALMOST COMPLETELY OUT
OF TIME.
I'M SORRY TO CUT YOU OFF.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE.
>> NO PROBLEM.
NO PROBLEM.
>> THANK YOU FOR COMING.
