Originally Posted by ultramarina
DD's gifted program offers sibling preference, but the sib has to test in at the same level as everyone else. The preference comes in because qualified sibs get a spot automatically and don't have to go through the lottery. Since there really isn't a reasonable bus system for the magnet (DD would have to ride more than an hour to get to a school about 4 miles away--insanity) and all elementaries start at the same time, I feel quite grateful that they have this in place.

If there are more children who exceed a test threshold than there are available spots in a gifted program, the threshold can simply be raised to match the number of spots. The highest-IQ kids should be the ones who can most benefit from a gifted program.