Janella Hinds, the UFT vice president for high schools, presented the recommendations of the UFT’s Specialized High School Task Force, which had rank-and-file representation from all eight specialized high schools.

The task force was created in September 2013 to formulate proposals to address the paucity of minority students admitted to the city’s top high schools. Under Bloomberg, admission was based exclusively on student performance on one standardized admission test.

Even though more minorities took the admissions test last fall than in previous years, even fewer were offered seats for the coming school year.

The UFT task force made the following recommendations:

1. target the top performers at every middle school;

2. revise the admissions test to align with the curriculum;

3. consider students on the basis of a “Power Score” that combines the student’s grade point average, ELA and math test scores, attendance and score on a revised admissions exam;

4. register all students in the admission process for the specialized high schools, with an easy opt-out clause, so everyone receives information about the test;

5. provide free online prep materials;

6. provide timely information and fairs for families and schools; and

7. require each specialized school to have a Discovery Program so students have alternate pathways to admission.

“A child’s overall performance needs to be looked at, not just how they do on one test one day of the year,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew, summing up the task force’s findings. “We are now looking to move legislation because we cannot change this policy without legislative action in Albany.”