G+T changes roundup: Proposal to expand access but likely reduce number of seats

Posted by Philissa at 7:52 AM

The consensus on the G+T changes is that they will make the programs more equitable in theory but will likely result in far fewer students being offered seats in gifted programs, especially in the districts that have a lively G+T culture, such as Brooklyn's District 22 and District 3, which covers the Upper West Side.

Parents in those districts are concerned that many of the students who are currently thriving in gifted programs would not be eligible for them under the new plan, reducing the number of programs and seats in those districts. “I think it would be a shame if not a crime to in any way eliminate any of the gifted programs that District 22 has nurtured over the last 40 years," a member of District 22's CEC told the Times. But all seem to agree that expanding access for poor students and kids in districts with only a handful or even no G+T programs is a good thing. ""When I started here kids who took the test were fundamentally kids whose parents would pay for the tests," Chancellor Klein told the Sun, and even now less than 10 percent of kids in some districts apply for gifted programs; in contrast, more than 60 percent of families in District 3 applied, the Sun reports.