Gifted Students May Have to Prove it at Age 3

Though the DOE is considering developing new tests for gifted admission, they may be ignoring the one part of the test that worries parents most. Statistics showed that the number of black and Latino students admitted into gifted programs had dropped significantly in the past three years, but many parents are more worried that a test taken at the age of four could determine their child's education for the next six years. Furthermore, new tests administered in 2012 may include children as young as three.

The city's $5.3 million contract with Harcourt Assessment expires this year. They were hired to standardize the city's gifted program admissions process, which previously consisted of 130 gifted programs across the boroughs. As the students took the tests, teachers were encouraged to fill out forms, rating their students on things like motivation, creativity and leadership skills. But the city dropped the rating scales when teachers failed to submit over 3,000 of them on time.

The city tried a few more tests, some based on qualitative assessments like color recognition, and others on quantitative IQ numbers, but nothing has been perfect. Experts also say that preschool testing doesn't give an accurate account of gifted abilities, since children have not had the opportunity to interact in a school setting. And really, how gifted can you be at three? Doctor and test developer Susan K. Johnsen told the Times, "You might be able to find an array of assessments that might be able to do a good job of recognizing children’s talents, but I don’t think there is a test that is a magic bullet, or even a combination of quantitative tests that are."

With regards to concerns that the city's minorities are under represented in gifted programs, DOE spokesman David Cantor said, "We are not looking for a test that identifies qualities other than giftedness in young children. Our responsibility remains ensuring that gifted students are properly identified and placed in programs they need to learn best." About 44% of the city's gifted students are white, as compared to 15% of the whole public school population. About 56% of the students in kindergarten gifted programs are girls.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on June 30, 2010 1:28 PM

Comments [rss]

Polemicist

So, why is it that intelligence varies for different breeds of dogs but not humans again?

Kojak

I think girls who develop breasts faster than other girls should be labeled gifted as well.

Genetically gifted.

Cannibal

stop lookin at little girls!!

Rocknrope

About 56% of the students in kindergarten gifted programs are girls.

Given that girls typically develop earlier than boys, and the fact that 1 in 70 boys exhibit autistic behavior, is it any wonder?

Kelles

"you could lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink"

The DOE could try all the combinations of tests/number fudging that they want to identify or "fix" the ratio of gifted students but if those students don't have any support or encouragement from their own families or community, it'll be just another "s/he was an honor student..." or "he was a good boy..." story.

ddhboy

Oh please. The fact that gifted program entries of black students jumped off a cliff in the past 3 years is more representative of the fact of gentrification rather than some systemic issue within the black community.

ANGRYGOD11

Don't assume any test can possibly identify gifted students. These tests exist to somehow sort too many children into too few elite schools and avoid lawsuits. The proof are the students chosen by a lottery system into elite charter schools do significantly outperform the kids from the same background not chosen by luck.

I can hear future generations laughing at us.

inoyourider

Don't stop tweaking the test until the results match the population of NYC to 1%.

And that's way too many girls too.

Sound like some gender discrimination going on too!

Of course, "Testing is available for all pre-

Kindergarten through Grade 2 students who are current New York City residents and wish to be considered for

self-contained G&T programs."

Damn those rich, privileged parents who have the money and resources to prepare their child for a test like this!

What does that test look for again?

OLSAT

1. Verbal Comprehension (Verbal): Measures the ability to manipulate or respond to information through

listening to language, i.e. following directions.

2. Verbal Reasoning (Verbal): Measures the ability to discover patterns or relationships and to solve

problems through the use of language such as aural reasoning and arithmetic reasoning.

3. Pictorial Reasoning (Non-verbal): Assesses the ability to reason using pictorial representations such as

picture classification, picture analogies and pictures in a series.

4. Figural Reasoning (Non-verbal): Assesses reasoning skills independent of language, i.e., figural

classification, figural analogies, pattern matrices and figures in a series.

BSRA

1. Colors: Measures a child’s knowledge and recognition of colors.

2. Letters: Measures a child’s knowledge of upper and lowercase letters.

3. Numbers/Counting: Measures a child’s recognition of single and double digit numerals and samples the

child’s ability to assign a number value to a set of objects.

4. Sizes: Measures a child’s knowledge and recognition of terms such as tall, long, short, big, small and

thick.

5. Comparisons: Measures a child’s ability to match and/or differentiate objects based on one or more of

their characteristics.

6. Shapes: Measures a child’s understanding of one, two and three dimensional shapes.

It's terrible!