Nov 20, 2007 11:05 AM
After a progress review of its gifted and talented education program, the Department of Education last month proposed a new policy that it believes will ensure access for all students and will be based on clear and high standards.
Currently there is no citywide standard for admission to the program and standards vary widely among schools. Some districts have produced many applicants and other districts very few.
Research shows that significant curriculum adaptations are necessary to meet the needs of gifted and talented children. For these children to thrive, they must be given challenges on the level of their intellectual development rather than their chronological age.
The new policy, a long-awaited departure from the past, would create a single standard with higher benchmarks based on national norms for all schools. All students would be given the same two comprehensive assessments and only those with a combined score in the top 5 percent will get into the coveted programs. Every student who meets the standard would be guaranteed a seat. Students currently in gifted and talented classes will not be affected.
The assessments to be used are the Bracken School Readiness Assessment and the Otis Lennon School Abilities Test. The BSRA, which is a widely used objective assessment of academic readiness, will carry a weight of 25 percent; the OLSAT, which was first used in New York City last year and is well-regarded by educators and parents, will count for 75 percent.
It is hoped that the new admission standards will create universal opportunity and dramatically increase the numbers of students testing for and entering gifted and talented programs. Implementation is expected to be completed in two years.
However, critics and districts with terrific gifted and talented programs were concerned that the new initiative would be used to limit or in fact eliminate gifted and talented opportunties for some students.
In order to improve access to assessments, the DOE will test all students who request testing during the current school year. During 2008-09 it will test all public school students.
To ensure that information is made known to all communities, including historically underrepresented ones in the city, the DOE is conducting intensive outreach through parent coordinators, foreign language newspapers, auto-dialing to parents, hearings and information sessions and by informing community boards and CEC meetings.
UFT President Randi Weingarten said, “The proposal sounds good, but we must avoid creating a Robin Hood situation. The Department of Education should ensure that schools and districts with viable gifted and talented programs are held harmless while increasing the availability of such programs for districts and schools that have been shortchanged or historically underserved. The department should also monitor the programs and collect data to correct any disparities in their implementation.”
Town Hall meetings on the program are being held during November in all boroughs. Feedback is invited at giftedandtalented@schools.nyc.gov or by phone at 1-212-374-5219.