Epicenter NYC

Entry to New York City’s eight specialized high schools – Stuyvesant HS, Brooklyn Tech HS, Bronx Science HS, Staten Island Tech HS, HS for Math, Science and Engineering, HS of American Studies, Brooklyn Latin HS and Queens HS for the Sciences – is based exclusively on a student’s Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) score.  […]

A 30-page report issued in March 2024 accused Stanford University professor Jo Boaler of grossly misrepresenting the research used to justify getting rid of algebra instruction in California public middle schools. Contested topics include Boaler’s claim that timed tests cause student anxiety leading to weaker performance, that removing grades improves performance, and that mixing students

New York City public schools offer two types of Gifted & Talented education. Five accelerated programs in citywide schools teach the standard NY state curriculum a year in advance, while enriched programs in over 100 district schools allow teachers flexibility in adding original material to the standard state curriculum.  Pre-pandemic, when a test was required

As part of the public school Gifted and Talented Kindergarten application process, parents of children not currently enrolled in Universal Pre-Kindergarten are interviewed by Department of Education employees to ascertain whether the applicant qualifies for inclusion into the G&T lottery. During this assessment, families are asked whether the child poses many questions? Whether they engage

When I presented at Epicenter’s Demystifying NYC’s High School Admissions Process webinar, many parents were interested in what options their students had for taking college courses even before they’d earned a high school diploma. We consulted with parents, a student, a college counselor and a high school principal to break down everything families need to

Now that Hunter College Elementary School has closed its applications for September 2024 kindergarten entry, it’s time for New York City parents to shift their attention to the many other options for the fall. Below is a list of key dates to keep in mind as you go through the application process: October 2023: Public

Last month, we published a post entitled, Most Parents Think Their Child is Higher Achieving Than Tests Say They Are: Grades and test scores don’t always tell the complete story.  We explained that: Many American parents would be shocked to know where their kids were actually achieving. Nationally, 90% of parents think their children are

Good grades and high test scores don’t always mean much. Photo: Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash The 2023-2024 academic year had already begun when New York City finally released outcomes from state English Language Arts (ELA) and Math exams administered to third through eighth graders in the spring of 2023.  One parent, who asked to

Stay on top of the key dates for applying to NYC schools. Photo: Mary Taylor Below are key dates for applying to traditional public, public charter, private Catholic and independent schools, and what each deadline means for your student: September 2024: Independent School Applications Open All private independent schools, including internationally renowned names like Dalton,

Thinking about applying to Hunter College Elementary School? Here’s everything you need to know about the laborious application process. Photo: Ben Mullins on Unsplash Hunter College Elementary School will open its application for September 2024 in late August 2023. Or maybe in September 2023. Even the official website doesn’t seem to know for sure.  So