I'm sorry but the whole g & t program in NYC is very political and corrupt, in my mind. Kids in Riverdale refused to join a g & t school setup elsewhere in the Bronx; parents there wouldn't dare send their kids even across Broadway or #1 line.
Numerous kids are discriminated against using the g & t test; my ds was one of them. There's only so many slots for Anderson and other schools in Manhattan that are open to the outer boroughs. I could go on and on. If you think the g & t program is equitable, you are a fool.
My DS (now 6.5 yrs old) didn't qualify for the g & t program when he was 4 and we were living in NYC. Within a year of moving to MA, my DS rapidly accelerates within 2 1/2 months through a pre-k/k/1st curriculum at a private gifted school in MA. I'm then told that he's possibly eg/pg, but less than a year ago he didn't qualify for NYC's g & t. Now come on.
Income plays a massive role in the g & t test in NYC whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Why? There are some pop cultural questions on the g & t tests that only those who have access to money and exposure would know about. Many deprived and disadvantaged children are already at two disadvantages with the g & t program due to lack of exposure to test material and lack of knowledge about the test itself (it's seen as a middle-class vehicle for upward social mobility). That's not to say that they wouldn't qualify. It's just the ability to read, do math, and write easily and confidently comes partly from exposure, practice, and some inspiring from the parents.
I know MA doesn't have a gifted program and some see the NYC g & t program as the lesser of two evils, but as a parent of eg/pg son who's already been in two private gifted schools before 1st grade and seeing how they refused to accommodate - I don't see an easy answer. With many gifted schools, it still seems that they only cater to a rather narrow population of the gifted spectrum. The Edison-trait children are too often left in the lurch, imo.
