“A lot of kids at Dewey cut class, hang out on the street,” Ms. Otero said. “Kids get jumped in the park.”
She worried that enrolling her daughter in a low-performing middle school like Dewey would relegate Aaliyah to a low-performing high school and then — well, both her older children had dropped out.
So last year when Aaliyah started fifth grade at Public School 24, Ms. Otero, a freelance graphic artist and a single mother, practically memorized the Education Department’s guide to middle schools. She attended the middle school fair for her district, District 15, and visited schools considered to be among the best.
Parents are supposed to rank their choices for the district lottery, but the guidebook is vague about what each school is looking for. Every school listing, under “Selection criteria,” says the same thing: “Review of grades and test scores.”
It is the guidance counselors who tell the parents how things really work. On both the state reading and math tests, the most selective schools generally want a raw score of at least 660 each — the equivalent of a 3 out of a top score of 4. Aaliyah was close; she had a 649 and 664.
Ms. Otero toured Middle School 51, one of the most coveted schools. “I heard the way they spoke,” she recalled. “Everyone was learning, sitting down, paying attention to the teacher.”
She also visited New Voices School of Academic and Creative Arts, which requires an audition. Aaliyah has never had a music lesson, but the family owns a guitar. “I’m just learning,” Aaliyah said. “I watch this TV channel — they have guitars, and I see where they put their fingers.” Asked how her audition went, she said, “A little messed up.”
Ms. Otero’s first choice for Aaliyah was M.S. 51, then New Voices; she listed Dewey last.
In mid-May, acceptance letters went out.
“Dewey,” Ms. Otero said. “A complete waste of my time. She could have gone straight into Dewey.”
Ms. Otero appealed.
Long before the Bloomberg administration, districts offered school choice. But in recent years the process has intensified. The reform movement has created an educational marketplace that presses schools to compete for students. This is good for the students selected for the strongest schools but not so good for children left behind and grouped as the weakest.
From 80 to 90 percent of pupils get one of their first three choices, according to an Education Department spokesman. But the better the test scores, the more in demand a child is, and the better the odds.
Christina Fuentes, the P.S. 24 principal, worries that children are being segregated by achievement, with students who earn 3s and 4s heading to one set of schools, and those with 1s and 2s to what is left over.
The 110 fifth graders at P.S. 24 are mostly poor with special needs (92 percent qualify for free lunch; for 46 percent, English is a second language; 19 percent are in special education, according to the most recent statistics on the Education Department’s Web site). They were accepted at nine different middle schools for the fall. The biggest group, 36, will go to Dewey.
Five will attend M.S. 51.
At Dewey, 90 percent of students qualify for subsidized lunches; for 39 percent, English is a second language; 21 percent are in special education.
Average language arts class size is 40.
At M.S. 51, 39 percent receive subsidized lunches; for 2 percent, English is a second language; 10 percent are in special education.
Average language arts class size is 29.
Academically, most children with 3s and 4s in elementary school continue to be 3s and 4s at M.S. 51, while the 1s and 2s continue to be 1s and 2s at Dewey.
At Dewey, 12 percent are proficient in language arts with a median state test score of 2.3; 20 percent are proficient in math with a median score of 2.4.
At M.S. 51, 82 percent are proficient in language arts with a score of 3.34; 83 percent are proficient in math with a 3.8 score.
E-mail: oneducation
@nytimes.com
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