In light of these changes, I cannot help wondering: Why is NYC going through the time, resources and, most importantly, expense (amid upcoming budget cuts) to create the charade of a G&T program that goes against relevant research on the topic? Related NYC Parents Rage: With No G&T Qualifying Test, Selection Process Is Chaos Worry if your kids are lucky.” Because that’s what determines whether they receive an adequate education. As I tell NYC parents, “Don’t worry if your kids are smart. This turns the process into a glorified lottery. Under this system, about two-thirds of all students - roughly 45,000 per grade level - are eligible, with no distinction made between those who earned all 4’s across the three core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics and those who scored all 3’s. But in the process, he is on track to nullify what made the programming beneficial, particularly for those underserved kids in whose interests he is supposedly making these changes.įor 2024, all students who earned 4’s or 3’s (“meets expectations”) are eligible for the G&T lottery, which now extends to fourth grade to accommodate seats created by the “Top Performers” program. Adams took the opposite approach, making it easier for students from all groups to qualify. Related Can New Gifted Programs Coax Families Back into NYC's Public Schools?Īdams’s predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, had been determined to do away with G&T altogether, unhappy with its lack of racial and socioeconomic diversity. However, students in different types of schools - district, charter and private - were evaluated differently, leading to a new set of frustrations. Adams also added a “Top Performers” category, where all students who were in the top 10% of their schools could apply to transfer to newly created district G&T programs starting in third grade. Students who earned all 4’s (“exceeds expectations”) would be entered into a G&T lottery, with no differentiation between those who could apply for citywide accelerated schools and enriched district programs. (Siblings received admissions priority and could jump the queue.) So many students qualified that, usually, about three-fourths of those who applied were left without a spot.įor 2023, Mayor Eric Adams claimed that “this administration is fully committed to listening to parents.” Instead of a test, grades would be used for assessment. An algorithm first placed all 99th percentile students, then the 98th and so forth down the line. Those who scored above the 90th percentile could apply to their local district’s enriched programs. Those who scored above the 97th percentile were eligible to apply to all five of the citywide accelerated schools. Previously, kids in kindergarten through second grade took a standardized exam - a combination Otis-Lennon School Ability Test and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test. In the process, the district has managed to disregard research that spells out what specifically gave these programs any value.

New York City has, once again, tweaked qualification requirements for entry into its gifted-and-talented program for first through fourth grade next year. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox.

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