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Many NYC middle schools drop selective screening as admissions return
Applications for New York City middle schools opened Wednesday. What parents will see this fall is that fewer schools are implementing a return to a selective process for next year's middle school enrollments. Only grades from 4th grade will be used to determine acceptance.
NEW YORK - Applications for New York City middle schools opened on Wednesday, but the selective admissions process has been dropped by many schools, in a move that should make a typically stressful and controversial time for parents a bit easier.
Overall, 59 of the city's middle schools are screening for enrollment, down from 196 schools that used academic screening for admissions before the pandemic hit.
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Now, only grades from 4th grade will be used to determine acceptance.
In the past, schools used other factors like attendance and state test scores, so parents will find the process simpler and overall less competitive.
"Instead of different schools using a bevy of different metrics – some might use grades, some grades and test scores and attendance, and other metrics – now schools are just looking at students' previous grades," said Alex Zimmerman, a reporter for Chalkbeat New York.
Critics have said the traditional screening process created racial inequity in the city's schools, arguing that students with socio-economic challenges typically had greater odds stacked against them.
Schools not implementing screening will default to the lottery process, meaning if enrollment supersedes capacity, it will shift to a lottery.
For more information, visit the myschools.nyc website.