To all the ways Covid-19 has transformed education in New York City, add this: Significant changes, announced in December, in admission to scores of traditionally selective middle schools and some of the most sought-after high schools in the 2021-22 school year. How will the admissions processes – now in full swing – work? Are they likely to increase racial and economic integration in schools often seen as bastions of privilege? We asked Laura Zingmond, a senior editor at the InsideSchools project at the Center for New York City Affairs, to sort it out for us.

Urban Matters: Let’s start with where most of the action is: the middle schools. What’s changing and why? How many schools will be affected and where?

Laura Zingmond: The Department of Education announced a one-year pause on use of middle school screens that admit students based on: grades; State standardized test scores; attendance; auditions; their own entrance exams; interviews; or a combination of factors. Schools with dual language and bilingual programs may continue to screen students based on dominant language and proficiency.

Most of the 474 DOE-run middle schools do not use screens. But 158 do, for other than language. Last year, because of the pandemic upheaval, State standardized exams in language arts and math were cancelled and students through grade 8 did not receive numerical grades on their final report card in June 2020.

So it would be absurd to admit students based on 3rd-grade test scores and mid-4th-grade report card grades, which are the most recent records available for current 5th graders. And to the extent that middle schools use other criteria, such as requiring students to take a test, audition, or interview – that’s just too much to ask of 10-year-olds and their families this year.

My colleague Melanie Quiroz has run the numbers, and found that about 70 percent of screened middle schools are in Brooklyn and Manhattan; that’s where the pause on screens will have the biggest impact. Districts 2 (Downtown, Midtown, and Upper East Side) and 3 (Upper West Side) in Manhattan and District 20 (Bay Ridge and Borough Park) in Brooklyn have the highest concentrations of screened middle schools.

UM: In announcing the policy change for middle schools, Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed a need to “move to a different place” in ending inequality and exclusion in school admissions. Do screened schools “hoard privilege” along race and class lines?

Zingmond: We took a deep dive into that question in a recent report: “Screened Schools: How to Broaden Access and Diversity.”

Overall enrollment in screened middle schools is 52 percent Black and Hispanic and 65 percent low-income. But citywide averages are not that instructive. In some areas, such as in parts of Manhattan, screened schools are disproportionately White and Asian. In the Bronx and parts of Brooklyn, most screened programs serve largely Black, Hispanic, and low-income students.

Based on that, we recommended eliminating many middle school screens, especially at schools that enroll few low-income, Black, and Hispanic students. However, some screened middle schools serve as a pipeline for low-income, Black, and Hispanic children to gain access to challenging high schools, and still others enroll children of races and income levels representative of the city. We recommended that the City preserve them. Of course, even these schools will not use screens next year, so it will be important for the City to monitor how they are impacted by the removal of screens.

UM: Now let’s turn to high school admissions. What is changing and where? What’s remaining the same?

Zingmond: High schools that typically screen for academics may do so this year too, but with some changes. They are not allowed to consider students' records of attendance or lateness. To the extent they screen for academics, the schools can look at 2018-19 State test scores (6th grade scores for those currently in 8th grade) and mid-year grades for the 2019-20 school year. Students interested in audition arts schools will audition online.

Some selective programs are changing admissions practices this year, by lowering minimum grade thresholds; or choosing not to look at grades at all, such as Beacon High School, and instead asking students to complete tasks such as submitting samples of work or writing essays. Several high schools that will continue to look at grades are switching to a qualified lottery system, where every student who meets a minimum requirement has an equal shot. Eliminating harsh screens and utilizing a qualified lottery were also recommendations in our Screened Schools report.

There’s also a permanent phasing out of geographic priorities in admissions, including the very contentious District 2 priority at several highly selective and sought-after schools. In the past, it was very hard to get into those schools, regardless of your grades, if you didn’t live in or attend middle school in District 2. Now, all of those high schools are open to students citywide.

What hasn’t changed much is entrance to the eight exam-based specialized high schools. Acceptance to them, plus LaGuardia High School, which admits students by audition and a review of academic records, is governed by State law. Eighth- and 9th-graders will take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test beginning January 27th – delayed from the usual autumn test date. Also, most students will take the exam at their own middle schools instead of traveling to a testing site.

UM: What do students and parents need to know about how the system works this year? What kind of back-up plans should they have if they don’t get into their first-choice schools?

Zingmond: Because of the pandemic-related delay in starting the current school year, middle and high school admissions started much later and they’re on a compressed schedule. Both processes are underway now; applications to middle school are due February 23rd, and to high school are due March 1st.

We have a vast and complicated system of school choice, especially at the high school level. A lot is asked of 13-year-olds and the adults who care for them. They need to decide what they want in a high school in terms of commute, environment, coursework, themes, special programs and extracurricular activities, and then figure out which among the 700-plus programs across 400-plus high schools will be a good fit and that they can get into. Under the best of circumstances, this is overwhelming for many families.

InsideSchools offers tools to help. Our school profiles, parent guides, search tools, and self-paced online courses were all designed to help families research schools in addition to understanding the process. We also created InsideSchools+, a community site where parents across the city can connect over a broad range of topics.

As for a back-up plan: Students rank schools in order of preference on the application. If you don’t get your first choice, the back-up plan is your second, third, fourth choice. That’s why it’s very important for parents and students to think carefully about which schools they rank on their application and make sure they apply to enough, too. If you don’t, you run the risk of not getting matched to one of the few schools you ranked. In that case, the Department of Education will assign you to a high school in your borough and you may not be happy with your placement.

UM: Final question: Does this complicated admissions process need to be more equitable – and will the changes this year accomplish that?

Zingmond: Yes, this year’s measures should help, but it’s too soon to know how much they’ll move the needle. And changing admissions alone won’t get us where we want to be. Equity requires investment.

At all grade levels, schools will face the daunting challenge this September of helping students overcome learning loss experienced during the pandemic. Schools will need to be very intentional in their efforts. That means ample resources and staffing to redesign lessons and differentiate instruction, provide small group support, expand tutoring and enrichment opportunities, ramp up counseling, adopt culturally inclusive curricula, make use of quality digital learning tools to enhance in-person teaching, and ensure each student has reliable access to a computer and the Internet.

Photography by: InsideSchools.