NYC Students Tackle Test to Elite High Schools, It’s Fair, They Say

NEW YORK—Anticipation lingered in the air on Saturday as a crowd of parents thronged the Brooklyn Technical High School, one of the eight specialized public high schools in the city that require a single academic test to get in.

Ashley Segnibo (L) and Imani Williams in front of Brooklyn Technical High School, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 25, 2014. The girls just finished the SHSAT, an admission test for New York City specialized high schools. Petr Svab/Epoch Times

NEW YORK—Anticipation lingered in the air on Saturday as a crowd of parents thronged the Brooklyn Technical High School, one of the eight specialized public high schools in the city that require a single academic test to get in.

The test was on. Thousands of eighth graders were putting their math and English skills to use inside the fort-like building adjoining Fort Greene Park, while the parents, gazes fixed on the entrances, awaited their return.

And then the doors opened. The children surged out with smiles of relief—parents gave hugs of recognition followed by the urging question: How was it?

“It was fair, but it wasn’t as fair as a regular test would be,” said Ashley Segnibo, explaining that the math test included material she had not been learning in class yet.

Parents wait for their children around Brooklyn Technical High School, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 25, 2014. About 30,000 children took the SHSAT, an admission test for the school. Petr Svab/Epoch Times