SURPRISE, SURPRISE: New York City schools use a Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) to determine which students get into its elite high schools and which do not. Mayor Bill de Blasio has opposed the test essentially on the ground that it lets in too many students of some races and not enough of others. But a just-made-public 2012 study shows that the test does indeed identify the students who are most likely to succeed at their studies.

As always, I remind everyone that you are not doing students any favors, no matter what their race, by admitting them to academic programs where their academic credentials put them toward the bottom of the class. Students learn more in programs where they are competitive with other students. See Want to Be a Doctor? A Scientist? An Engineer? An Affirmative Action Leg Up May Hurt Your Chances and A “Dubious Expediency”: How Race-Preferential Admissions Policies on Campus Hurt Minority Students.