Technical glitch reduces Manhattan high school admission chances for students

In the United States, specifically New York City, a technical glitch in the Department of Education's high school prediction tool caused significant distress among parents applying for two popular schools: NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies and Millennium High School. This issue arose just hours before the closing of applications, prompting concern over the accuracy of students' chances of admission. Parents became aware of the glitch via a private Facebook group, where they expressed their frustration with the already complicated high school application process. One parent described the situation as a 'joke', indicating how challenging and unstable the system felt, especially under these last-minute revelations. The prediction tool, which was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is designed to inform families about their children's chances of being accepted into chosen high schools based on various criteria including grades, admissions method, and borough. However, it was reported that the tool provided incorrect information regarding the 'chance of receiving an offer' due to mistakes in calculating seat availability for the mentioned schools. This revelation frustrated many families who had already made decisions based on the False predictions. Upon discovery of the issue, the Department of Education took action promptly by reaching out to affected families. They sent an email to approximately 1,600 parents, explaining that the displayed probability of admission for their children was incorrect. The email outlined that they had made necessary updates to the prediction tool to reflect the actual chance of receiving an offer based on the corrected seat availability. Although parents were understandably worried, the DOE assured them that they could still apply to the schools in question despite the confusion, extending the application deadline to January 10. Deborah Kross, president of the Citywide Council on High Schools, added reassurance by stating that the longstanding process allows for grace periods in application deadlines most years, thus potentially minimizing the impact of the glitch on students' results. She noted that admissions results for the schools concerned were still expected to be released on March 6, indicating that all would not be lost for students and families. This situation follows a history of technological glitches within the education department, which had previously caused delays in launching middle school applications and inconveniences related to remote learning systems. As parents reflected on past difficulties, their concerns regarding the reliability of the education department's technology continued to grow.