New York City high schools give priority to first-level admissions, with the largest number of Asian students

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New York City high schools give priority to first-level admissions, with the largest number of Asian students

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Recent application data from the Department of Education reveals that when sorting students into different admission priority “levels” across various districts, factors such as race, family income, disability status, and English fluency have played a significant role. High school admissions in New York City are notoriously competitive and complex. For most high schools, a candidate’s GPA in core seventh-grade courses is the paramount criterion determining their eligibility for these top-tier schools.

Eighth-grade applicants are categorized into five levels based on their seventh-grade core course performance. This year, Level One denotes students who are in the top 15% citywide (with a GPA of at least 94.25%) or the top 15% within their school (with a GPA of at least 90%). Conversely, Level Five represents the lowest tier, comprised of the bottom 30% of students, those with an average GPA below 76%. Generally, students must be in Level One to be considered for the more selective schools. As the levels decrease, the available options for students narrow significantly, with Level Five students facing the most limited admission prospects.

The latest data indicates that Asian students, while making up only 13.3% of all applicants, account for a remarkable 31.6% of Level One students—totaling 4,200 individuals, the highest among all ethnic groups. Following them in Level One are White and Hispanic students, whereas only 1,300 African American students reached this level, the fewest among the groups.

Additionally, English Language Learners (ELLs) are 2.5 times more likely to be assigned to the lowest Level Five compared to their fluent English-speaking peers. This year, only 185 ELLs made it into Level One, while a staggering 5,100 were categorized in Level Five. Similarly, students with disabilities also fared poorly, with nearly 13 times as many classified in Level Five compared to those in Level One.

Jia-Ting Zhu, founder of PLACE NYC, commented, “Math instruction used to transcend language barriers.” For many new immigrants from China, math is traditionally their strongest subject. However, in recent years, math education has increasingly emphasized language form over problem-solving skills, hindering new immigrants from showcasing their mathematical strengths. She also noted that the pandemic has deprived many new immigrant students of necessary English learning environments, resulting in “irreversible damage” to their English proficiency.