The mayor also said he would lobby Albany to scrap the admissions test altogether. It is unclear whether he can accomplish that goal: the United Federation of Teachers has long called for multiple measures for deciding admissions without making headway. A state law says admissions at Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Technical High School must use the test. City officials have argued that the law applies to the five other specialized high schools, though others have disputed that claim.
Mr. de Blasio called Saturday for an entirely new admissions process: Selecting students based on a combination of their rank in their middle schools and their results in the statewide tests that all middle-school children take. The mayor estimated that, under this method, about 45% of students in the eight schools would be Latino or black.
Critics of using class rank this way argue middle schools have wide gaps in standards, so students of varying ability would pass muster. Some also argue the system would become more subjective and susceptible to manipulation by savvy parents pulling strings.
Corrections & Amplifications New York Mayor Bill de Blasios plan would offer 20% of seats at each specialized high school to students in the Discovery program. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated it was for students in the DREAM program. (June 2, 2018)