New data shows Stuyvesant High School’s incoming class includes only 3 Black students out of 777

Just three Black students were admitted to Stuyvesant High School’s incoming class of 777, according to new city data, reigniting debate over the SHSAT.

New admissions data out of New York City has once again put a harsh spotlight on the racial makeup of the city’s most selective public schools. According to Gothamist, only three Black students earned a spot in Stuyvesant High School’s incoming ninth-grade class of 777, a figure released by the city’s education department.

The number continues a well documented trend at the city’s eight specialized public high schools, which rank among the most competitive in New York. Gothamist noted that Stuyvesant admitted eight Black students in 2025 and 10 in 2024, meaning this year’s figure marks a further decline.

Broken down further, the incoming class includes 534 Asian students, 133 white students, 39 multiracial students, 21 Latino students and three Native American students, with the racial background of 44 students listed as unknown.

At the center of the debate is the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT, the single exam that determines entry to these schools. Integration advocates have long argued the test entrenches segregation, while its defenders maintain it offers an objective, merit-based path to admission. Per Gothamist’s reporting, roughly 26,100 eighth graders sat for the exam this year, with about 4,000 receiving offers. Of those, just 140 Black students were admitted to any specialized school citywide.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself a graduate of The Bronx School of Science, has said he does not intend to eliminate the SHSAT, a notable shift from his earlier stance during a prior Assembly campaign when he supported abolishing it.

As Gothamist recounted, Mamdani has still described the low admission numbers for Black and Latino students as “jarring,” expressing a preference for addressing inequities by investing more resources across all schools instead.

Advocates remain unconvinced that incremental approaches will move the needle. Nyah Berg, executive director of New York Appleseed, compared the annual release of these figures to a recurring loop, telling Gothamist that the disparities surface every year without meaningful action. She questioned how long city leaders will allow schools regarded as among the best in the country to remain among the most segregated.

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels acknowledged there is “more work ahead,” pledging continued efforts toward a more integrated system.