Statement on Interim Admissions Process for Boston’s Selective High Schools

The Boston Coalition for Education Equity is disappointed that the School Committee is even considering use of a standardized test for admission to Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in the midst of the current pandemic. Is there anyone who doesn’t agree, that despite all efforts to mitigate the harm, Black and LatinX children and children from low income families have suffered far worse than children in families that have ample resources to mitigate the impacts of this crisis?

Advocates for keeping a test contend it’s necessary because these are schools with a high level of rigor. But even our nation’s most rigorous and most prestigious colleges and universities are suspending the use of tests for admissions this year. This movement away from standardized testing for admissions started before the pandemic because colleges and universities know that these tests are poor predictors of student success. They measure race and class much better than they measure potential. In this pandemic year, that will be even more true than it’s been in the past.

Equity should be the top priority in deciding any interim process during this crisis.

It’s essential that the School Committee implement a fair admissions system for next fall’s entering class, and there are many models to draw from. The NAACP and Lawyers for Civil Rights have proposed several workable approaches. Dr. Hardin Coleman on the School Committee, academic researchers, and community members have suggested others.

We look forward to hearing the working group’s recommendation tonight. 

Black and Brown students have been under-represented and disproportionately disadvantaged by Boston’s exam school admissions system for decades. Their families and neighborhoods are now being disproportionately harmed by the pandemic and economic shutdown. We ask that you not make an inequitable situation even worse and urge you not to approve any admissions process that includes a standardized test for this year.

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