Hundreds of the city’s 11- and 12-year-olds flock to a handful of testing sites on a Saturday morning each November in hopes of gaining entry to Boston Latin School or one of Boston’s other two public exam schools.
A student’s score can realize or crush dreams of attending one of the prestigious schools, and it can decide whether a family pays a fortune for private school or moves to the suburbs. Such high stakes have spurred a cottage industry of pricey tutors and programs, giving wealthier students an edge and exacerbating one of the school system’s starkest racial inequities.
Now a growing number of parents, education advocates, and civil rights leaders say the exam must go, following the release of a Harvard study that indicated the test is a major barrier for black and Latino students. Some city councilors say the school system should, at minimum, convene a panel to explore changing the admission requirements, in what would be a sharp rebuke of Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who halted a similar effort two years ago.