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Black and Hispanic faces are few and far between at Staten Island Technical High School's 2013 commencement. Based on the results of the city's test for admission to specialized high schools, no black students were admitted to Tech's fall 2014 freshman class.

(Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island Technical High School may have no black students among its incoming freshman class of 344 students, according to results of the city's Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT).

Last year the highly competetive, nationally-recognized school in New Dorp admitted five black students. Overall, only 1 percent of the school's 1,100 students are black, and 5 percent Hispanic.

Tech is not alone among the city's elite high schools.

The problem, critics say, is the admissions process.

City Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), who said she's heard, in conversation, of two students of color from her district who were admitted to Tech for the fall, said the numbers were "abysmal" "Whether it's five students, two students, or no students, the numbers are abysmal and the situation is alarming," she said.

Student scores on the SHSAT exam are the sole criteria used for admission to Tech and seven other specialized high schools throughout the city, including Manhattan's Stuyvestant High School and Brooklyn Tech, where Mayor Bill de Blasio's son, Dante, is a sophomore.

The exam was initially instituted in 1972, to create a merit-based process and avoid the element of nepotism and favoritism in admissions.

"Some students tend to perform better than others on any kind of these exams. We don't know why, whether it's a comment on the education system, or whether other factors are involved.

"Whatever the cause, I would like to see the numbers more reflective of the population on Staten Island and my district," said Ms. Rose. A member of the City Council Education Committee, she said she would ask Committee Chairman Daniel Dromm (D-Queens) to call a hearing on the admissions process and results.

Although more black and Hispanic students took the test for admission to the fall class than in previous years, test scores failed to yield results that reflect the diversity of the school system, according to the Department of Education.

Of the nearly 28,000 students who took the entrance test last October, 46 percent were black or Hispanic -- up from 43 percent in 2012 -- but their test scores did not make the grade. At Stuyvesant for example -- which is also a top choice for Staten Island students who take the exam -- only seven black students were accepted to the freshman of a class of 952. Overall, only 1 percent of its 3,200 students are black, and less than 3 percent are Hispanic.

In response to an NAACP complaint to the U.S. Department of Education, the city last year increased its two-year after-school test-prep program, the Specialized High School Institute, that begins in sixth-grade and ends in eighth-grade, when students apply to high school.

The voluntary program combines academic study with test-taking strategy, to help high-achieving, low-income students prepare for the exam. More than 2,500 students from throughout the city participated in the program last year. There were no numbers available for Staten Island students who participated.

Mayor de Blasio and City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, meanwhile, have vowed an overhaul of the admissions system.

"We must do more to reflect the diversity of our city in our top-tier schools," Farina told the New York Post.

De Blasio, who referred to the specialized high schools as the "jewels" of the school system, said he would seek to incorporate other factors, including grade-point averages and teacher recommendations, into the admission process.

Any changes to the process would require approval from the state Legislature. Since 1972, state law has required that students take the SHSAT to gain admissions to the schools. The law was passed in response to a pattern of nepotism and favoritism in the admissions process, with the intent of making the process merit-based.

Admission to Staten Island Tech, which is marking its 25th anniversary, was initially made on on the basis of several factors, including grades, which were assigned points in a "power score." Admission shifted to the SHSAT scores in 2005, when Tech was designated as one of the city's specialized high schools.

By comparison, minority enrollment at Staten Island's three other non-zoned "choice" schools, where admission is not determined by exam score, is considerably higher. The College of Staten Island High School for International Studies, New Springville, has a minority enrollment of 43 percent. Gaynor McCown High School for Expeditionary Studies, also in New Springville, has a minority enrollment of 41 percent, while Petrides High School, Sunnyside, has a minority enrollment of 41 percent, according to DOE statistics.