New York City's eight specialized public high schools have exemplified American meritocracy for over a century. Through an admissions process that relies solely on the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), which cuts through the noise of privilege to home in on raw intellectual potential, students from all five boroughs have a chance to attend these elite institutions, regardless of socioeconomic status. But the meritocracy of these schools has been waning.
In 2018, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio lambasted the specialized high schools, which are largely attended by white and Asian students, for having a "diversity problem." He blamed the SHSAT. De Blasio initially attempted to eliminate the test entirely, but the state Legislature stopped him. So in the fall of 2019, he expanded the Discovery Program, which fills the remaining seats at these schools with students who missed the SHSAT cutoff score of the city's least competitive specialized high school.
