The Reality of Black Student Admissions

My daughter's school is offering SHSAT tutoring to help students on the specialized h.s. admission test. My daughter's friends all signed up then the other day she said they all changed their minds bc they looked at admit stats for Black kids & decided they wouldn't make it.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 30, 2023

Seeing how few Black students were successful enough to gain entry to these public schools, these smart, studious Black girls from an unscreened, regular Brooklyn middle school decided it was better not to try than to be set up for failure. A system operating as designed.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 30, 2023

We send powerful messages to our children and what we believe them capable of, and too many of our babies get that message perfectly.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 30, 2023

And before I get comments demeaning these girls for "giving up," let's remember that these are 12-year-old girls, an age where girls of all races struggle with confidence, worth, esteem, but especially Black girls in this society.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 30, 2023

And then let's consider they didn't give up at all, but rather made a calculated decision based on decades of statistical evidence that shows most kids like them will, in fact, not get in.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 30, 2023

If we had the system that took into account their grade point average instead, they'd be good. Instead we maintain a system where all of your academic work and dedication is irrelevant. Just a single test.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 30, 2023

Because some of you are very silly, let me help you out. Students with high grades were selected take part in tutoring for the SHSAT. They were told it could help them get into the top high schools-- specialized high schools.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 31, 2023

The students felt special for getting selected and so they googled the specialized high school. Maybe you should try it. Because then you will see all the articles written about the how few Black students get into these schools and how those who do feel alienated.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 31, 2023

So, no, they did look up race statistics. They looked up the high schools and what they found were articles making it pretty clear how few students like them get in. And they felt discouraged.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 31, 2023

Also, you all clearly have no idea how the minds of 7th graders work. They research everything. At least mine does. She last year confronted me about the test scores of her school after searching Great Schools for school ranking.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 31, 2023

My daughter, who doesn't like flying, can tell you the crash records of all the major airlines. It's revealing that the same people who think these children should have maximum sophistication when it comes to single high-stakes test think they're babies when it comes to all else.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 31, 2023

I had never talked to my daughter about the specialized schools. As I have made very clear, I do not believe in public schools that screen out children. She, probably like her classmates, was introduced to these schools and the test by her school. So she did her research.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 31, 2023