Fairness to Gifted Girls: Admissions to New York City’s Elite Public High Schools

• In Event: Poster Session 19
  In Poster Session: Test Validity Research and Evaluation SIG: Poster Presentation

Abstract

Although admission to New York City's elite public high schools has been controversial because of the disproportionate representation by ethnicity, the under-representation of girls has received less attention. This research compared the predictive validity and gender bias of the sole admissions criterion, the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), and seventh grade GPA (GPA7). Data included 28,818 SHSAT scores, and grades for NYC public school students. The SHSAT (r2 = .20) was a less precise predictor of high school grades than GPA7 (r2 = .44) and under-predicted girls’ GPAs by 4.2 points, while GPA7 under-predicted by 1.33 points. An index combining SHSAT and GPA7 might improve the quality of the admitted cohort and be relatively gender-fair.

Author

• Jonathan Taylor, Hunter College - CUNY