A very small fraction of black and Hispanic students, who account for more than two thirds of all public school students in New York City, were offered seats in the city's most prestigious high schools: 8.9 percent. This is even lower than the 9.6 percent last year, according to Department of Education figures released on Friday.

That drop is sure to amplify the ongoing debate over how to improve diversity in the city's public schools, particularly in the eight specialized high schools that include schools like Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech and rely on a single test for admissions, known as the SHSAT.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the schools should rely on more than the SHSAT entrance exam to determine admissions but there's a big debate over whether multiple criteria would alter the enrollment outcome. 

According to city figures, the overall number of test takers fell slightly this year, from 27,174 in 2014 to 26,971 last fall. There were 521 fewer black and Hispanic test takers in that mix and fewer whites, with a slight increase in Asian and students listed as "unknown."

As for acceptances, Asian students made up 34 percent of those offered seats and whites were 29.3 percent, even though each group represents about 15 percent of all public school students. Many educators believe test prep accounts partly for their over-representation in the competitive high schools. Students who study months or years in advance have a big advantage on the test, they said.

The Department of Education offers free test-prep programs for low-income students with good scores on the state tests, but there are not enough seats for all of the students who qualify. The agency did not respond to a question about why the number of test takers declined this year.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said she is committed to achieving diversity in the specialized schools without lowering standards.

"We continue to review a variety of strategies to foster diversity at these schools," she said. "Still, we know that the best way to promote diversity at these schools is to ensure that every student gets a high-quality education starting in pre-K."

Meanwhile, students across the city are getting high school acceptance letters. The city says three quarters of them got into one of their top three choices. About 7 percent of students did not receive a match at all in the first round, and will be allowed to apply in a second round by March 18th.

More students with disabilities are also getting into screened schools, which have tougher admissions criteria.

The application process is anxiety-inducing each year for students and their families.

Isaiah Rosario of the Community Action Middle School in Manhattan got into his first choice, Manhattan/Hunter Science High School, which requires a good grade point average. He said the admissions process was "a lot to handle" but that his school and his family supported him.

Staci Williams, an eighth grader at P.S./M.S. 189 The Bilingual Center in Brooklyn, was happy to find out she had been offered a seat at Brooklyn Latin, one of the specialized schools. The 13-year-old said she took a test prep class at her school last fall.

"You have to study a lot and you have to work really hard, and plus I had to take all my Regents classes and I'm taking four right now," she said.

Williams is African-American and she was aware of the low number of students of color getting into the specialized schools. She speculated that "some might be getting discouraged" from even taking the tests because they know the odds.

Her classmate, Grisely Tejada, got into her first choice of Brooklyn Tech. She said she hoped to make a point for anyone who thinks Hispanics don't succeed in high school. "I wanted to change that stereotype," she said.