High school entrance exams trial#

вЂњCovid is a fake cover story for those who want to kill the exam,вЂќ said parent activist Darragh Murphy, a white woman who attended Boston Latin School in the 1980s.

High school entrance exams trial#

(The South End, where Emily lives, is projected to lose several seats, although the change also opens up opportunities to local students who were previously reluctant to take the admissions test.) A group of parents sued last month to stop the change a trial kicked off in federal court this week. In Boston, protests have erupted over whether the new admissions process is fair, especially to white and Asian students in neighborhoods that stand to lose seats in the schools. But the temporary change has also been met with outrage: Some say eliminating the tests could destroy the very backbone and utility of exam schools. The move is spurring hope among school desegregation advocates who want the exam schools to look more like BostonвЂ™s public schools overall. For the first time, the city plans to use ZIP codes to place students, along with their GPAs, with priority given to low-income areas. The one-year change in admissions policy was prompted by the pandemic and a desire to diversify the selective schools, in which Black and Latino students are underrepresented. Emily, who loves math and wants to be a pharmacist, said that sheвЂ™s nervous about how hard the classes may be but that sheвЂ™s eager for a вЂњbetter education.вЂќ вЂњI just want her to succeed, to have more opportunities,вЂќ Jiang said through a Cantonese translator.