Nuancing the narrative: understanding Asian American opposition to NYC’s selective high school admissions reform

Abstract

In this study, the authors conduct a qualitative analysis to examine discourses embedded in the New York City specialized public high schools’ admission reform. Undertaking Critical Discourse Analysis, the article engages with historical and contextual understandings of Asian Americans in the race-conscious admission policy to elite public high schools. The findings reveal themes of racism and anti-Asian American discrimination, meritocracy and colorblindness, and systematic issues and segregation swirling around the policy debate. The authors aim to illuminate the competing values, ideologies, and fundamental issues shaping the epistemological conversation of race, power, and education equity. These discourses shed light on the challenges, benefits, and limitations of the current approach to diversifying elite public high schools in the United States.