Assessments for Screened Schools

The schools in the table below are using assessments as part of admissions this year. To apply to any program listed below, students need to both list it on their high school application and complete the assessment by the deadline. There will not be any additional assessments added to any high schools in this year’s process.

Common assessments: Five of the Consortium High Schools (Beacon, East Side Community, Institute for Collaborative Education, School of the Future, and University Heights Secondary) are sharing a common written assessment. Both Bard Early College High Schools, Townsend Harris High School and Baccalaureate School for Global Education are also sharing a common written assessment. All of these common assessments must submitted in MySchools––scroll down to learn more.

The rest of the schools listed below have developed and are evaluating their own assessments. These schools are also collecting assessments on their own, outside of Myschools. 

  • See the "Assessment Information" column to learn about specific schools' requirements. Applicants can follow links to schools' own websites (listed below) to learn what the assessment is and how to submit it.
  • We encourage applicants to confirm any program's admissions requirements in the "Selection Criteria" section of its MySchools page

Some schools have chosen to use both assessments and grades – you can see what each school is using under the “Selection Criteria” column in the table below.

Programs Using Assessments for 2023 Admissions

 School (DBN)Selection Criteria Assessment Information
East Side Community School (01M450 - Manhattan)
  • 100% essay
  • See "Consortium Schools" below
  • Submit through MySchools
New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School (NEST+m) (01M539 - Manhattan)
  • 50% Average Course Grades
  • 50% Online Admissions Activity
Bard High School Early College - Manhattan (01M696 - Manhattan)
  • 10% average course grades
  • 30% humanities writing
  • 30% STEM writing
  • 30% video
  • See "Bard High School Early College" below
  • Submit through MySchools
Gramercy Arts High School (02M374 - Manhattan)
  • 65% average course grades
  • 35% interview
NYC iSchool (02M376 - Manhattan)
  • 100% online admissions activity
Institute for Collaborative Education (02M407 - Manhattan)
  • 100% essay
  • See "Consortium Schools" below
  • Submit through MySchools
School of the Future High School (02M413 - Manhattan)
  • 100% essay
  • See "Consortium Schools" below
  • Submit essay through MySchools
Frank McCourt High School (03M417 - Manhattan)
  • 20% average course grades
  • 80% interview/online form
Beacon High School (03M479 - Manhattan)
  • 20% average course grades
  • 80% essay
  • See "Consortium Schools" below
  • Submit through MySchools
Manhattan / Hunter Science High School (03M541 - Manhattan)
  • 70% average course grades
  • 30% essay
University Heights Secondary School (07X495 - Bronx)
  • 50% average course grades
  • 50% essay
  • See "Consortium Schools" below
  • Submit through MySchools
Westchester Square Academy (08X558 - Bronx)
  • 75% average course grades
  • 25% interview
Bronx Early College Academy for Teaching & Learning (09X324 - Bronx)
  • 90% average course grades
  • 10% interview
Young Women's Leadership School of the Bronx (09X568 - Bronx)
  • 80% average course grades
  • 20% interview
In-Tech Academy (M.S. / H.S.) (10X368 - Bronx)
  • 40% average course grades
  • 60% essay
Science, Technology and Research Early College High School (17K543 - Brooklyn)
  • 30% average course grades
  • 30% online school assessment
  • 20% interview
  • 20% student work portfolio
Medgar Evers College Preparatory School (17K590 - Brooklyn)
  • 40% average course grades
  • 60% entrance assessment: 25% math, 25% essay, 10% special talent video (athletics, visual and performing arts)
Kingsborough Early College School (21K468 - Brooklyn)
  • 60% average course grades
  • 40% interview
Brooklyn College Academy (22K555 - Brooklyn)
  • 50% average course grades
  • 50% school-based assessment
Bard High School Early College - Queens (24Q299 - Queens)
  • 10% average course grades
  • 30% humanities writing
  • 30% STEM writing
  • 30% video
  • See "Bard High School Early College" below
  • Submit through MySchools
Townsend Harris High School (25Q525 - Queens)
  • 40% average course grades
  • 20% humanities writing
  • 20% STEM writing
  • 20% video
  • See "Townsend Harris High School" below
Bayside High School (26Q495 - Queens)
  • 80% average course grades
  • 20% written exercise
Baccalaureate School for Global Education (30Q580 - Queens)
  • 10% average course grades
  • 20% humanities writing
  • 20% STEM writing
  • 50% video
  • See "Baccalaureate School for Global Education" below
  • Submit through Myschools

The Consortium Schools, Bard High School Early College, Townsend Harris High School and Baccalaureate School for Global Education

Five of the Consortium Schools (Beacon, East Side Community, Institute for Collaborative Education, School of the Future, and University Heights Secondary) both Bard High School Early College schools, Townsend Harris High School and Baccalaureate School for Global Education are the only high schools collecting assessments through the additional materials tab in MySchools. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see detailed information on the assessments at these schools. 

These five Consortium Schools are all using the same assessment, so it needs to be completed once regardless of how many Consortium schools you are applying to.

Bard Early College High schools, Townsend Harris High School and Baccalaureate School for Global Education are also using the same common writing assessment, so applicants can complete and use the same writing task for all four schools. Applicants must complete a distinct video for Townsend Harris High School, a distinct video for the Baccalaureate School for Global Education, and a distinct video for the Bards

Log in to your MySchools account and click “Additional Materials” on your dashboard to get started. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to upload and submit materials for these five Consortium schools, Bard Early College schools, Townsend Harris High School and Baccalaureate School for Global Education:

Assessment for Consortium Schools

  • 01M450: East Side Community School
  • 02M407: Institute for Collaborative Education
  • 02M413: School of the Future High School
  • 03M479: Beacon High School
  • 07X495: University Heights Secondary School

Consortium Schools believe that students thrive when they are given the opportunity to study topics in-depth and apply their learning outside of the classroom. Instead of taking tests, our students demonstrate their skills in practical terms: they design experiments, make presentations, write reports, and defend their work to outside experts.

Instructions

To apply to any or all of the programs above, answer one of the two prompts below in 500 words or fewer:

  1. How do you think a school with this approach to learning will help you grow academically, personally, and creatively? What do you think you have to offer a school community like this?
  2. We admire students who are flexible in their approach to learning and willing to take intellectual risks that move them out of their comfort zone. Reflect on a time when you were intellectually challenged, inspired, or took an intellectual risk––inside or outside the classroom. How has that experience shaped you?

Assessment for Bard High School Early College, Townsend Harris High School and Baccalaureate School for Global Education

  • 01M696: Bard High School Early College
  • 12X641: Bard High School Early College Bronx
  • 24Q299: Bard High School Early College Queens
  • 25Q525: Townsend Harris High School
  • 30Q580: Baccalaureate School for Global Education

To apply to one or more of these programs, please complete all three parts of this assessment: Humanities Writing, STEM Writing, and Video. Please note, the writing prompts for all four programs are the same, but there is a distinct video for Townsend Harris High School, a distinct video for the Baccalaureate School for Global Education, and a distinct video for the Bards scroll down to Part 3: Video learn more.

Part 1: Humanities Writing

Please select ONE question to respond to from the following choices. Your response should be between 250-500 words (approximately 1200-2500 characters).

 "The Danger of a Single Story," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

1. Does anything in this story remind you of an experience or interaction you've had in your life? How does your experience compare with the experience in the story?

OR

2. How does the author use storytelling to push back against the danger of a single story? Please use an example from the text to support your point?

Part 2. STEM Writing

Please select ONE question to respond to from the following choices. Your response should be between 250-500 words (approximately 1200-2500 characters).

1. You are stranded on an island and you may take one modern invention with you (No cell phones!) Explain why you chose the item and describe some of the issues you may encounter trying to keep the item functional while stranded.

OR

2. Suppose you wake up one morning and suddenly know everything there is to know about math and science. If you could use that knowledge to solve a problem in your community, what problem would you solve? Describe the problem. How would you use math and science to solve the problem?

Part 3: Video

For Bard High School Early Colleges

Please submit a 2 minute (maximum time) video that includes ALL of the following:

A. An introduction to you

B. An answer to both of the questions below:

Our school mission is premised on the belief that many students, from all cultures and backgrounds, are ready and eager to begin taking college-level courses in high school. What makes you want to attend an early college? What about being a Bard student most excites you?

For Townsend Harris High School 

Please submit a 2 minute (maximum time) video that includes ALL of the following:

A. An introduction to you

B. An answer to the questions below:

We believe that every student has a special and unique artistic, intellectual and personal talent, interest, ability and/or gift that can enrich our school community. Our Ephebic Oath states that we promise to “leave our city greater than we found it.” Identify two talents, interests, abilities or gifts you possess that would enrich our school community and how you would “leave it greater than you found it.”

For Baccalaureate School for Global Education

Please submit a 2 minute (maximum time) video that includes ALL of the following:

A. An introduction to you

B. An answer to the questions below:

As the first public all IB-school in New York City, we are one community made up of diverse cultures. We expect all students who successfully complete our course of study to be prepared for the International Baccalaureate diploma. What makes you want to attend an IB school? Choose TWO elements of the IB Learner Profile, and describe how you would like to develop in those areas.

At BSGE, we develop learners who are:

- Inquirers
- Knowledgeable
- Thinkers
- Communicators
- Principled
- Open-minded
- Caring
- Risk-takers
- Balanced
- Reflective

    For schools with additional criteria, how are course grades and the assessment used together for admission?

    Course grades and the school’s assessment scores will be combined using a weighted average. High schools choose how the two components are weighted; this is shown on each school’s MySchools profile, and in the table above.

    Each student’s course grades will be mapped to a 100 point scale based on their admissions group. (Please see the chart below to see how each group’s grades will be mapped.) Schools will then submit their scores for their assessment on a 100 point scale. Each student’s grade mapping is then averaged with the assessment score, weighing the components according to how the school chooses to weigh the two components. Students are then admitted in descending order of the combined, weighted score.

    For example, If a school weighted course grades at 20% and an essay at 80%, and an applicant who fell into admissions group 1 had an essay score of 85:

    • The student’s grade mapping would be 100 since they fall in group 1. 
    • The essay score is 85.
    • Then the scores would be averaged using the school’s weights: (100 X 20%) + (85 X 80%) = 88
      • This student’s final score would be 88.
      •  Students are admitted in descending final score order.

    To learn more, visit our Screened Admissions page.

    Admissions Group Grade Mapping
    Group 1100
    Group 290
    Group 380
    Group 475
    Group 565

    What happens if a student has no eligible grades?

    If a student has no eligible grades, the assessment will count for 100% of the selection criteria.