Boston school officials are proposing a change to the admissions policy for the city’s exam schools that they say will create a more equitable system for gaining acceptance into the elite schools.
The proposal follows a recent five-year analysis of exam school admissions data, which found that while racial and socioeconomic diversity increased under the current policy, a significant number of academically-strong applicants were not gaining admission.
The new proposal would reserve 20% of seats for leading-scoring students no matter where they live in the city.
The remaining 80% of seats at the three exam schools — Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science — would still be apportioned across four tiers, which are grouped by neighborhoods that have similar socioeconomic characteristics, according to Census data.
“We think these changes will lead to a system that is overall clearer and more equitable,” Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper said at Thursday’s committee meeting. She said the proposal will ensure “there is a pathway for the highest scoring students citywide while preserving the basic structure of distributing invitations equally across each socioeconomic tier.”
The proposal also would change how points are allocated to applicants in the socioeconomic tier system. Students would not be given bonus points for attending a low-income school, and points for housing hardship — like living in public housing — would decrease from 15 to 10.
Over the past several years, the tier-based admissions policy has increased the share of Black and Hispanic students as well as students who are multi-lingual and have disabilities at exam schools while decreasing the share of white students. The school district is defending an ongoing federal lawsuit by a parent group called Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence that claims the tier system is racially discriminatory against white and Asian students.
Prior to 2021, the exam schools used a citywide application system based on grades and entrance exam scores.
The recent analysis of the current policy’s impact on demographic shifts at the schools found “a significant number of students” with high scores based on their GPA and entrance exam were not invited to an exam school.
Skipper said it has become “mathematically difficult” for some students who attend a certain elementary school or who live in a higher-income neighborhood to get an invitation to these rigorous schools that are often a stepping stone to selective colleges.
Applicants are invited based on how they score against other applicants in their socioeconomic tier on a scale of 100 based on grade point average and an entrance exam in reading and math. Each year, about 1,000 new invitations are sent out for the exam schools, which span grade 7 to 12.
The current policy was approved in 2021 to make exam schools more racially and socioeconomically representative of Boston’s school-age population at large.
The school committee will vote on the proposal Nov. 5. If passed, it would start next school year.
“I am pro merit. May the best child win.”
Shamieh Wall
At a meeting Thursday evening, many parents supported the proposal and pointed out the imperfections of the current system where there are exclusive spots.
Shamieh Wall, a Dorchester parent of a second grader and O’Bryant alumna, said she supports the change.
“I am pro merit. May the best child win,” she said. “ However, true equity only exists when we properly resource the rest of our schools. Exam schools can’t be the only option.”
Imtiyaz Hussein, a parent in Jamaica Plain, said he too supports the proposal, particularly the elimination of bonus points to students who attended low-income schools.
“In recent years, some families have tried to switch schools when their child was going to fifth grade in order to benefit from the points. And surely this type of school shopping is not what the district wants to see,” he said.
However, researcher Rosann Tung, who served on a prior BPS task force to craft the current admissions policy, said the shift will disadvantage marginalized groups.
“ The vast majority of BPS schools had no hope of their students getting invited until the policy changed [in 2021],” she said. “ Giving 20% of seats to the affluent and powerful would contradict the task force recommendation of no set-aside.”
In an analysis provided by the district, the policy shift would result in modest changes to the percentage of invitations by race. For example, white students would see a small bump while Hispanic students a slight decrease. It would also reduce the percentage of invitations to low-income students and former English learners.
The district is proposing the change last for at least three years to prevent confusion and whiplash among parents.
School committee chairman Jeri Robinson said the proposal reflects “a decent compromise.”
“I mean, some win, some lose — there’s never going to be the perfect policy, unless we make every seat a seat at Boston Latin School for the whole district,” she said. “Then everybody would be happy.”
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