New York Times: The Failure of Michael Bloomberg’s Choice Program in New York City
This article appeared in the New York Times in 2017. It evaluated Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s legacy in high school admission.
Mayor Bloomberg eliminated zoned high schools and instituted a policy of citywide choice. Students could apply to any high school in the city.
This was supposed to reduce racial segregation, but instead it increased it.
Bloomberg, who had sole control of the New York City school system, also increased the number of schools with selective admissions policies.
This too increased the segregation of schools.
Graduation rates are up, but graduation rates are always suspicious since they are easily manipulated and manufactured by devices such as “credit recovery.”
What is certain is that segregation has intensified.
Fourteen years into the system, black and Hispanic students are just as isolated in segregated high schools as they are in elementary schools — a situation that school choice was supposed to ease.
Within the system, there is a hierarchy of schools, each with different admissions requirements — a one-day high-stakes test, auditions, open houses. And getting into the best schools, where almost all students graduate and are ready to attend college, often requires top scores on the state’s annual math and English tests and a high CONTINUE READING: New York Times: The Failure of Michael Bloomberg’s Choice Program in New York City | Diane Ravitch's blog
