The latest data from the Education Department reveals that when categorizing students into different admission priority “levels,” factors such as race, family income, disability status, and English proficiency have emerged as significant influences. New York City’s high school application process is notoriously competitive and complex. For most high schools, the GPA from core subjects in seventh grade is the most crucial determinant of whether applicants can gain entry into top-tier schools.
This year, eighth-grade applicants will be classified into five levels based on their seventh-grade core course grades. Level One represents students in the top 15% citywide (with a GPA of at least 94.25%) or in the top 15% of their respective school (with a GPA of at least 90%). Conversely, Level Five represents the bottom 30% of students, with average grades below 76%. Generally, students must achieve a Level One ranking to be considered for selective schools, as lower levels lead to fewer options; those in Level Five have the lowest admission priority.
Recent application statistics show that while Asian students make up only 13.3% of total applicants, they constitute an impressive 31.6% of Level One students, totaling 4,200—more than any other racial group. Following this, White and Latino students have a higher presence in Level One than African American students, who see the least representation with only 1,300 attaining this level.
Moreover, English Language Learners (ELLs) are 2.5 times more likely to be placed in the lowest Level Five compared to their English-proficient peers. This year, only 185 ELLs made it to Level One, while a staggering 5,100 were assigned to Level Five. Similarly, students with disabilities faced unfavorable outcomes, with nearly 13 times as many classified in Level Five compared to those in Level One.
Julia Zhang, founder of PLACE NYC, notes, “Math used to be a subject that transcended language.” For new immigrants from China, math is often their strongest subject. However, in recent years, math instruction has increasingly focused on the language aspects rather than problem-solving skills, which has hindered new immigrants from showcasing their mathematical strengths. Additionally, she believes that the pandemic has caused many new immigrant students to lose their English learning environments, resulting in “irreversible damage” to their English abilities.
