New York City is home to millions of students and over 1000 public high schools. Of those high schools, eight of them are the most coveted, which are known as the specialized high schools, each placing an emphasis on various modes of learning or a specific area of knowledge on which they wish to impart to their students. These schools basically provide the advantages of a private education for free and help get students into top-tier colleges due to their reputation.

Admission to these schools is typically based on the results of one test, called the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT). While the format of the test has changed over the course of the years, it has always had a mathematics section with an English Language Arts section. Many students spend well over a few months studying to get into those schools, with each school having a certain cutoff score. The test is typically attempted by eighth graders, but ninth-graders may also take the test (the chances of admission are drastically lower due to the smaller number of seats).

Although the idea of having a single test determine the next four years of a student's education is sound, it led to a vast racial disparity, where Asian students occupy over 50% of the seats, despite being less than 20% of the entire city student population. Unfortunately, black and Hispanic students get the short end of the stick, where very few offers were made to them.

I am a strong proponent of diversity, and going from a school with so little to a college that prides itself on it has helped me realize that diversity in any form boosts the ability of everyone to collectively excel. In my case, I became more compassionate and understanding of the different cultures and circumstances of other students. Although I believe in diversity, I sharply criticize outright discrimination of any group.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, rekindled a fierce debate about affirmative action and diversity in specialized high schools by trying to outright get rid of the SHSAT. Affirmative action is a very sensitive topic for most people especially due to the inclusion of race, so I am going to put out there that any remarks I say have no intent on being racist and apologize in advance if they may be taken in such a context.

I understand de Blasio's premise and intent to diversify the specialized high schools, but I think de Blasio's execution of his plan to scrap the SHSAT is outright moronic. As of right now, the SHSAT is absolutely necessary for Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, and the Bronx High School of Science to admit students, as stipulated in the Hecht-Calendra Act, a New York State law.

However, an alternate admissions pathway known as the Discovery program exists where students who scored marginally below the cutoff score of each specialized high school would be permitted to enroll in one if they completed a summer program. I like the premise of this program, given its ability to get more disadvantaged students into more specialized high schools, and I'm fine with the idea of only allowing students from the city's poorest schools and neighborhoods to enroll in the Discovery program.

However, I disagree with de Blasio's wish to set aside 20% of seats in each specialized high school for students in the Discovery program. As Asians are not considered disadvantaged, I feel this move punishes them simply for being Asian.

Moreover, the SHSAT screens for students that can actually handle the work at these schools. After talking to several teachers in Stuyvesant, my alma mater, many of these students from Discovery are hardworking and have potential but just cannot handle the immense pressure of each of these specialized high schools as well as the fast pace of the classes.

I'm not saying one race, in particular, is smarter or superior to another, but I feel that the SHSAT gives a 100% unbiased measure of a student's academic ability, to begin with. Even if it didn't test the academic ability to the fullest extent, it would surely assess one's ability to take a test. This is useful, as Stuyvesant, which is known for being a pressure cooker, calculates the majority of its class grades simply from test scores.

That being said, a high school alone won't magically make a good student great; it is the students that give each school its reputation. And as a personal anecdote, I had to prepare for months in order to barely make the cutoff for Stuyvesant. It was weeks and a summer of sacrifice that I had to dedicate to this test. Therefore, removing the SHSAT invalidates all the effort that I put into getting into the high school of my dreams, which is a big slap in my face.

I believe that there are other ways that we can alleviate the extreme racial imbalance at specialized high schools. One way is to drastically increase the funding of middle schools in poorer districts, such that they may be able to produce students of higher quality. Another way is to set aside seats for students in top-tier middle schools, such as Mark Twain and Christa McAuliffe, rather than in the specialized high schools themselves.

I appreciate the move to prepare students in poorer districts for free, but I also believe that this needs to be further expanded for any meaningful effect to be noticed. Lastly, more specialized high schools could be created using the city's vast resources, such that more seats can be open to people of disadvantaged backgrounds.

I don't believe in a zero-sum system of admission; students who gain admission completely deserve to get into those schools, regardless of background. Removing the SHSAT will only reduce the quality of education in specialized high schools. There are other ways that may be implemented to increase the diversity of each school but haven't been explored. Bill, don't be shortsighted; please consider every option before you turn high school admissions into a game.