New York City to Eliminate Exclusive Gifted and Talented Education Program

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City officials say the new policy will allow all preschool children to have access to accelerated learning, which the mayor says will provide a fair model for children to “reach their full potential.”

The program, named Brilliant NYC, will remove the test given to 4-year-olds before they enter kindergarten to identify “gifted and talented” students, and instead implement an accelerated teaching model in fall 2022 that will serve about 65,000 people. kindergartens, according to the Department of Education (DOE).

“The era of judging 4-year-olds based on a single test is over,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “Brilliant NYC will provide accelerated education to tens of thousands of children, as opposed to the privileged few,” he said.

“Every child in New York City deserves to reach their full potential, and this new fair model gives them that chance.”

The current gifted and talented program admitted 2,500 students based on test scores, many of whom were predominantly Asian and White Americans, according to the DOE.

For years, students, advocates, and some educators have argued that the city’s gifted and talented exam is polarizing and has failed to quell existing debates about the unequal and discriminatory treatment of black and Latino students.

New York City’s public schools are among the most segregated in the United States, according to the UCLA Civil Rights Project. In an updated analysis using data from 2018, a report released this year found that New York City retains its place as the most segregated state for black students and the second most segregated for Latino students, behind California.

Segregation is blatant in New York. In the city’s public schools, 74.6% of black and Latino students attend a school where less than 10% of students are white. In addition, 34.3% of white students attend predominantly white schools, according to the DOE.

Earlier this year, students and lawyers filed a lawsuit against state and city defendants who “challenged racial hierarchies in public education and asserted their right under the Constitution to New York State has an education that identifies and dismantles racism. “

What happens next

Admission to the program was based on a test score and the availability of places in the program, and not all children who scored high enough received an offer, the DOE said. But this structure ends because every child in kindergarten will now have access to accelerated learning.

Students currently admitted to the Gifted and Talented program will continue their elementary education in their current program, the DOE said.

Under the new plan, students entering third grade will be universally assessed to assess whether they can benefit from tailor-made accelerated instruction, but will remain in blended-level classes, according to the DOE.

Accelerated education will include learning through projects that focus on real-world issues, including in part robotics and coding for community organizing and advocacy, according to the DOE.

Officials plan to train 4,000 kindergarten teachers in this accelerated learning teaching, hire new already-trained teachers and launch teams of experts in the boroughs to support its implementation. The DOE also plans to expand schools with the Fast Track 80 to 800 program.

The DOE said it plans to launch city-wide forums in all 32 districts in October and November to get community feedback, before rolling out the plan in December.

“As a longtime educator, I know that every child in New York City has talents that go far beyond what a single test can capture and the Brilliant NYC plan will uncover their strengths for them to do. they can succeed, ”said Chancellor of the Schools Meisha Porter.

“I’m excited to go to neighborhoods across the city to hear first-hand from communities about the types of learning opportunities that pique students’ interest and make their talents shine. “

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