Schools changing admission standards to quickly achieve racial diversity, nonprofit says

WASHINGTON (TND) — Across the United States, admission to highly selective academic high schools, often called "exam schools," has moved from objective, test-based student evaluations to a more subjective process. Some call this discriminatory. Others say it will increase diversity and equity.

Parents Defending Education's Director of Outreach Erika Sanzi joined The National Desk Tuesday to explain what is an objective, test-based student evaluation, what is the subjective process and how this affects admission in general.

Sanzi said, for a long time, exam schools have relied solely on an admissions test with math and English-oriented portions to determine who could attend. The students who performed the best were then admitted to the "exam schools."

Sanzi explained, in recent years, there has been a push to change the admission policy from the test format "to increase diversity."

And when they say diversity, they're really talking about racial diversity," Sanzi told The National Desk's Jan Jeffcoat. "And there is evidence that relying solely on the test does mean that there are certain groups that are less likely to get in because they don't perform as well on the test."

Some have called this a "war on merit" as the focus of admission shifts from test scores to more intangible things.

Watch the video above for Jeffcoat and Sanzi's full conversation.