NYC NOW - Only 3 Black Students Got Into Stuyvesant High School This Year. Why Does This Keep Happening?

Episode Date: July 27, 2026

Only three Black students were admitted to Stuyvesant High School's incoming ninth grade class of 777 students this past spring. That's the lowest number since the city started tracking this data in 2014. WNYC and Gothamist reporter Jessica Gould has covered this story for years, and she joins us to break down what the numbers actually show and why the specialized high school entrance exam is so hard to change. Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images -Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. All the specialized high schools admit relatively few black and Latino students compared to their numbers in the school system at large. It's a demographic trend that's been going on for years. New York City's specialized high schools recently released their admissions numbers, and it shows a continued pattern in the lack of diversity. On today's episode, we look into Syvison High School

and why its ninth grade class only has three black students. Before we dive into that, though, here's what we're following in the WNYC and Gothamist Newsroom. Mayor Zoharam Mundani is revealing more details on his initiative for city-run grocery stores. The Mumdani administration says its five city-run grocery stores will offer New Yorkers a basket of meat and other essential items for 30% cheaper than a typical grocery store. 30% off adds up.

to real money for New Yorkers, with an estimated $90 saved on grocery bills each month. That is more than $1,000 saved every year. And just as important as money, those savings add up to time. The mayor says the municipal stores will offer produce, meat, and seafood, and other pantry staples. He says prices will be set each month.

Mumdani says his administration is also seeking experienced grocery store operators to manage the stores. The mayor says the city plans to open one municipal grocery store in each borough starting next year. Now to another Mumdani announcement, the mayor is pledging to make every New York City Housing Authority Child Care Center led free this fall. He announced a $10 million investment to complete a permanent abatement of lead-based paint at 63 child care centers on Nica campuses. The move builds off of a 2019 agreement between Nica and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

which requires the Housing Authority to address lead-based hazards on its properties. According to the mayor's office, NYCHA is on track to meet the goals set in that agreement. I sure hope you enjoyed the sunny weather over the weekend because New York City is expecting stormy weather all week long. Although rain and storms are likely, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ramsey says it should clear up before the upcoming weekend. I think it's going to be wet for much of the work week, at least Tuesday through Thursday, and then this weekend, it looks like we'll have another dry stretch for outdoor activities. The National Weather Service is predicting two to three inches of rain during the stretch,

along with thunderstorms and even the potential for flash flooding. But there's no official alert yet. And thank goodness. I know the last thing New Yorkers want is another warning. I mean, think about it. We've been getting an overwhelming number of public health warnings this entire summer. We've been told to stay inside because of extreme heat and poor air quality. we've been warned about flash floods, and Upper East Siders have been told to watch out for symptoms of Legionnaires disease.

Now, to the friend who blames everything on climate change, I got to admit it, you're right this time. Louise Young is the city's chief climate officer. She says climate change is making these types of overlapping public health hazards more common. Over the 4th of July weekend, for example, we saw extreme heat followed by extreme rain. And then we just had a bout of bad air quality days from wildfires up in Canada. Experts say some of the hazards linked to climate change are less obvious, like Legionnaire's disease. The bacteria that causes it thrives in warmer weather. We're going to take a quick break, but when we return, we'll discuss a disturbing pattern in enrollment at New York City's specialized high schools.

Stay close. Welcome back. Every summer, New York City's high school. city's specialized high schools release their admissions numbers, and every summer, the diversity at Stuyvesant High School becomes a flashpoint. This year is no different. Only three black students were admitted to Stuyvesant's incoming ninth grade class of 777 students. That's the lowest number since the city started tracking this data back in 2014. It's a drop from eight last year and 10 the year before that. Citywide, only 140 black students got into any of the eight

specialized high schools out of tens of thousands who took the entrance exam. Mayor Zuraamamam Dhani, himself a graduate of Bronx science, has called the numbers jarring, but he said he won't push to change the test that determines who gets in. WMYC and Gothamist reporter Jessica Gould has been covering this story for years. She's here to help us understand these numbers of little bit better. Hey, Jess. Hey. All right. So only three black students out of 777. That is a really small number, but I wonder if you're even surprised by that. You've covered this every year. Honestly, I wasn't that surprised. It's stunning, but not surprising. You know, we see this year after year at Stuyvesant, as you mentioned, it's been eight, ten, seven. It goes up a little, goes down a little. And it

often ignites this firestorm of debate. You know, they're the calls to overhaul admissions to the specialized high schools, but then no major changes end up being made. So it's a familiar story, but the number is especially low this year. Yeah. And numbers are what we're going to dig into to follow this one. I'm wondering, can you paint this ugly picture for us? Can you describe and break down the demographics that we're talking about here? Sure. So at Stuyveson, as you said, of 777 seats for incoming ninth graders. Sixty-eight percent of those seats went to Asian students, but Asian students only make up 19 percent of the school system. Now, compare that to 2 percent of Latino students who got into Stai as part of this most recent admissions round, even though they make

up 42 percent of public school students. The percentage of black students that we talked about who got offers to Stuyveson is way less than 1 percent, and they make up 19 percent of the school system, and 17% of offers went to white kids who make up 16% of the school system. Man, when you paint this picture, it doesn't look that great. For Stuyvesant High School, at least. But is this something that is happening at other specialized high schools? Yeah, I mean, this trend is across the specialized high schools, though it's particularly acute at Stuyvesant.

All the specialized high schools admit relatively few black and Latino students compared to their numbers in the school system at large. So it's a demographic trend that's been going on for years. Why is that even happening? Many critics blame the S-H-S-A-T. It's always a test. Yeah, it's the standardized test that decides whether you get into these schools. Your score also decides which of the eight specialized schools you get into. It's mostly a multiple choice test. It's got a section on math and reading. It's three hours. And last fall, it was the first year that it was totally digital. so on computers. Now, critics of the test say using grades or class rank would be a fair way to determine admission. They say that the test seems to discriminate against black and Latino

students. But there are other factors at play beyond the test itself. Fewer black and Latino students are taking the test to get into these schools. Some families don't even know about the test and others aren't eager to be part of such a small minority once they get to the school. I could understand that. But I'm wondering, you know, why does one single test carry so much weight when it comes to determining who gets into these schools in the first place? Well, it's actually part of the law. The test is in state law. It's a state law requirement for admission to the schools. Now, the test defenders say it's actually an objective measure compared to more subjective measures like essays or grades or recommendations. And some say it's. It's a really good predictor of who will succeed at the school. But the main reason that it's still in place after all these years is because all of the efforts to change it have failed. And after these kids take this test, there's another way students can get into a specialized school through the discovery program.

And that's a program that was designed to improve diversity at specialized schools. But just you recently reported that data shows diversity in that program itself. is actually lacking. Can you explain that a bit more? Sure. So the discovery program allows kids who didn't meet the cutoff for getting into these schools outright, but still scored very high, a chance to take a summer program where they take some courses, often taught by faculty from the specialized schools at the specialized schools. And then if they do well enough, they can be admitted to the school in the fall. The de Blasio administration actually expanded the this program so that more students would be admitted that way. And they also made a requirement that

the students who got into discovery either had a low-income family background or went to a school that was high needs. So that was meant to kind of diversify the pool of kids getting in. But what we found from the most recent data is that while some more black and Latino students do get in that way, it does increase the numbers a smidge. It really doesn't change. the overall demographics of the specialized schools that much. Okay, so by law, a student has to take a test to get into these specialized high schools. When does preparation for that test begin? So for some students, it begins when they're years younger than when they take the test.

For some students, it begins years before. They spend their summers or weekends in prep classes. Oh, that's no fun. And, you know, there's this whole cottage industry around it. So you can have classes that cost up to $5,000 for a summer boot camp that goes into the fall right before you take the test. But they're also, you know, much lower cost, online resources, you know, from $30 a month or so. And then there are free test prep programs that the city runs and also some foundations to try to diversify the pool of students more. Okay.

Earlier I mentioned that Mayor Mumdani has no plans to change the exam. or get rid of it. Of course, we know now it's a state law. But he says that he is willing to invest more resources. What is he talking about there? Yeah. He said earlier in his career that he was interested in shifting the admissions policies at these schools that he supported that. Then during the campaign trail, he said he would leave the test as it is. So that was a change in his position. He hasn't said exactly what his plans are to improve education in order to address these disparities. but some of it includes investments in, you know, pre-K all the way up through middle school to make those schools stronger to improve education and sort of lift all boats so more children are in a position to apply for these schools to take the test and get in. Why is changing how these specialized schools admit students, why is it so controversial?

Well, you know, efforts to get rid of the test have created a lot of pushback, particularly in communities and among families. families who have been able to get in. These schools are seen as a real pathway to success, whether it's an Ivy League school for college or career. These are networks that you become part of. The education is very rigorous. And when former Mayor de Blasio tried to get rid of the test years ago, there was just a groundswell of opposition. A lot of the opposition came from the Asian community where many families felt personally attacked. that he was trying to take away a pathway that they had had to get their kids into better schools and a higher education. Some talked about being first generation immigrants and that their kids were working really hard to prepare and that they merited getting in.

And they fought back hard, as did some alumni like the makeup billionaire Ronald Lauder, who bankrolled some ads and pushed in Albany against. any efforts to dismantle the test. So there really was a lot of pushback, both from families on the ground and some big-pocketed individuals, to try to fight back against these changes. So for families whose kids go to specialized schools or who want their kids to go to specialized schools, have you talked to any of them? What do they have to say? Yeah, as you can imagine, the parents of kids who got in and who are getting in, they say that the test is a good measure of your ability to succeed at the school and that it is objective and fairer than other measures. They also say that the specialized schools are diverse. It's just diverse in a different way

than we might have been talking about it before. Yeah, I'm thinking how. Well, economically, you know, up and down, socioeconomic status, people from across the city geographically are going to the school. And culturally and ethnically, you know, yes, Yes, the vast majority are Asian, but that can mean a lot of different national origins and backgrounds. But of course, the disparities remain, and many people are troubled by the small numbers of black and Latino kids getting in relative to their numbers in the school system as a whole. It's worth remembering, though, that only 5% of public school students total go to these specialized schools. They're famous, they're prestigious, but they don't serve the vast majority of the public school system. So some people also think that this annual outrage is kind of disproportionate to their role in the school system.

Right, but we're only talking about a small amount of students here. Right. That's WNYC's education reporter, Jessica Gould. Jessica, thanks so much for joining me today. Thank you. And thank you for listening to NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back with you next time.