SHSAT

By Maisie Carroll

In January, many M.S. 447 8th grade students took the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). This test was pushed back from its original date in October. While the SHSAT is a very important test for the specialized high school admissions process, it also creates a lot of stress and anxiety for the students taking it.

Many students have strong feelings about the effect it has on students and how inequitable the test is. When asked about the test, one student said “it’s f***ing messed up and f*** this system.” A lot of students seem to agree with this, with another student saying “The SHSAT is an unfair process that makes you feel like sh*t as well as being inequitable.” Another person said “The SHSAT is more a judgment of how much money you have than your intellectual ability.” Expanding on this she said, “A person who comes from a wealthy family who can pay for test prep and a tutor will do better than a person who doesn’t.” 

A PBS article from 2019 discusses this issue. One aspect brought up in the article was that in 2019, out of the nearly 900 slots available for incoming 9th grade students at Stuyvesant, only seven of them went to black students. Black and Latino students make up 70 percent of New York City’s students, yet make up only 10 percent of the students at the eight specialized high schools. In the article, Leanne Nunes says “When you look at not only the race of the students that get these seats, but also the financial status of these students, where they have the financial means to afford test prep or other sessions or tutors that other low-income students simply do not.” While there are places that offer free test prep sessions and tutors, it is still much less accessible than it is to high income students. According to a New York Times article, there have been attempts to make the test more equitable by creating more opportunities for free test prep, but this did not change the admission percentages. 

There have been many attempts to change the exam process, but as it is state law it is very difficult to change. There has been little progress, as many of the possible solutions would lead to a lot of students who could possibly get seats now, losing them. A lot of the possible solutions have been controversial though many agree something needs to change.

Another common problem among students taking the SHSAT test is the decrease in their mental health. Many of the people I have talked to have described the anxiety and stress they have been feeling while studying for the test. Already, with COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of students has worsened. According to an article by the New York Times, student mental health has decreased during COVID-19, as “A recent study of 3,300 high school students found that nearly one-third reported feeling unhappy or depressed in recent months.” A lot of this is the result of feeling isolated and losing a routine. This decrease in student’s mental health has not been improved by tests. Tests create much more anxiety as students can feel nervous and anxious before them. An article from oxfordlearning.com says, “For students who struggle with test anxiety, a bit of pre-exam nervousness turns into debilitating feelings of worry, dread, and fear, which can negatively impact performance.” The article also says that anxiety around tests can affect a students grades, as well as their mental health. Anxiety is already a large problem in students, and can heavily affect a student’s everyday life and wellbeing.

The SHSAT test is a huge part of the lives of any student taking it. Students study for this test for years in some cases, and it can be dominating their mental health. It is also not accessible and equitable to some students, creating disproportionate statistics in the amount of students at specialized highschools. There are many things to think about when discussing this test, and it is important to acknowledge the flaws. For now at least though, it is a necessary test to take if a student would like to go to a specialized highschool, and very unlikely to be the last test of this kind they will take.