High School Admissions: Choice, but No Equity
Seton Hall Carolyn Sattin-BajajThe roughly 65,000 students who have entered eighth grade in New York City public schools will face a formidable task in the coming months. In addition to completing homework assignments and taking tests, preparing for the dreaded state exams and meeting the city’s multiple promotion requirements, all eighth-grade students who wish to attend public (non-charter) high schools in New York city must also submit applications in which they rank up to 12 programs or schools from among nearly 700 possibilities citywide.
The Department of Education uses a formula to match each student with one high school modeled after the