Resolution Urging the Panel for Educational Policy to Ensure Continuity in the Administration of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test by Approving the Pearson Assessment Contract

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

This resolution urges the Panel for Educational Policy to approve a new contract with Pearson Assessment to ensure uninterrupted administration of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT). It cites legal requirements under the Hecht-Calandra Act that SHS admissions be determined solely by a competitive, objective, scholastic achievement examination. The text explains that delaying or lacking a valid vendor contract would jeopardize the legally required testing for fall 2026 admissions and harm students preparing for the exam.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Background and legal basis

SHS admissions requirement under the Hecht-Calandra Act

Procurement and vendor selection

Request for Proposal outcome

Need for continuity and impact of disruption

Ongoing contract role since COVID-19

Proposed SHSAT format

Pearson computerized adaptive testing

Resolution demands

Approval of Pearson contract

Ensuring families can review scores under the new format

Resolution Urging the Panel for Educational Policy to Ensure Continuity in the Administration of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test by Approving the Pearson Assessment Contract Sponsor: Lu Zhao, Nathifa Lewis, Kalyanaram Gurumurthy WHEREAS, the Panel for Education Policy (“PEP”) was initially set to consider a vote to approve a new five-year contract with NCS Pearson, Inc. (“Pearson”) to provide a standardized testing program for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (“SHSAT”) . It was delayed to Nov. meeting but postponed again to Dec meeting now. WHEREAS, as per the Hecht-Calandra Act, admission to New York City Public Schools (“NYCPS”)’ Specialized High Schools (“SHS”) must be determined“solely and exclusively by taking a competitive, objective, and scholastic achievement examination. " Failure to enter into a new contract with a vendor would put Specialized High Schools in a position of not having the legally required test to admit their Freshmen class for the fall of 2026 . WHEREAS, the Hecht-Calandra Act was codified by New York State in 1971 to mandate the admissions process for New York City’s Specialized High Schools, now including 8 SHS enrolling over 16,000 students: Bronx High School of Science (enrollment ~3 ,000), Brooklyn Latin School (enrollment ~ 800), Brooklyn Technical High School (enrollment ~ 6 ,000), High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College (enrollment ~ 500), High School of American Studies at Lehman College (enrollment ~400), Queens High School for the Sciences at York College (enrollment ~700), Staten Island Technical High School (enrollment~ 1 ,400), and Stuyvesant High School (enrollment ~3 ,300) . WHEREAS, NYCPS conducted a Request for Proposal in the fall of 2023 seeking vendors for the test, which yielded two submissions: Pearson and Educational Testing Services. Upon review and further negotiation, NYCPS determined that Pearson’s proposal was the most attractive both from a pricing perspective and from a quality standpoint. WHEREAS, since the COVID-19 pandemic, NYC Public School families have endured annual changes to high school admissions, throughout this time period, the semi-permanence of a multi-year contract for administering the SHSAT has continued to provide an objective and consistent entry point in the NYCPS 8 set aside test entry Specialized High Schools in conjunction with its 1 audition based Specialized High School Fiorello H LaGuardia. WHEREAS, NYC Public Schools has not offered a viable objective alternative to the test as an entry point into Specialized High Schools, and the high school application process currently allows students up to 3 high school spots based on the lottery based General Application, the test based Specialized High School Application, and the Audition based Specialized LaGuardia Application. WHEREAS, the new SHSAT format proposed by Pearson is computerized and adaptive, in line with the recent changes in other standardized tests including the New York State Test , SAT , AP and soon ACT. THEREFORE, be it resolved that Community Education Council 28 (CEC 28) demands the Panel for Educational Policy approves the Pearson Assessments contract, thereby avoiding any material disruption to future admissions cycles and avoiding direct harm to students who have been studying for the SHSAT. THEREFORE, be it further resolved that CEC 28 urges NYCPS to work with Pearson to ensure that families interested in reviewing their child’s SHSAT test still have the ability to do so with the new computerized format

FAQs

Why does the resolution call for approving the Pearson assessment contract?

It demands approval to avoid disruption to future SHSAT admissions cycles and to prevent direct harm to students preparing for the test.

What legal requirement does the resolution cite for SHS admissions?

It references the Hecht-Calandra Act, requiring Specialized High Schools admissions to be determined solely and exclusively by a competitive, objective, scholastic achievement examination.

What change to the SHSAT format is proposed under the Pearson contract?

The resolution states Pearson proposes a computerized and adaptive SHSAT format aligned with other standardized tests.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor