Secrets, Lies and Kindergarten Admissions

If you have not read the The New York Magazine article, "The Junior Meritocracy.....Why Kindergarten Admissions Tests Are Worthless" you should. It's a long one so do it after the kids are asleep. The article sheds light on the instability of IQ tests that are given to children at the age of 4 years to determine how "gifted" they are. As well, the article touches on how the validity of these tests are being threatened by some desperate low-life tactics parents and educational tutoring services have turned to; not only buying the coveted IQ exams but selling them on websites as though they were state secrets.

My thoughts:

I agree with what much of the article depicts but I think there are some major questions and solutions that are overlooked:

1. Why were many public school Gifted and Talented (G&T) programs developed? Many of them were created to entice middle and upper income families to send their children to public schools. Until the NYCDOE decided to use the OLSAT as the standardized test for entrance into G&T programs (about 3 years ago) admission exams were described as an "arbitrary hodge podge" means of assessing children across the city. That leads me to ask if the programs were truly gifted programs to begin with? Were these students truly gifted or did they mostly come from "nice" neighborhood families paired with an average curriculum? And what about all the children that were tested and qualified for the gifted programs but ended going to regular programs because there was no space for them? How are they coping? This is not to say that some children are not truly gifted and that some programs are not valid but how are we assessing these kids and what really qualifies as a "gifted"program"?

2. I met a parent last year whose 2nd grade child had come from a private school that required an IQ exam for entrance into the school. Because of financial reasons the child was now attending a local non-gifted public school. At the first publishing party the mother became quickly embarrassed that her daughter's work was clearly far behind her classmates. By the first report card she had received notice that her daughter's promotion was in doubt. The child was put into the public school's extended day program and the mother hired a tutor. While the child's intelligence is truly not the question, the gap in knowledge and skill clearly impacted the child's academic achievement. What role does moving from one set of standards and a difference in educational philosophy play?

3. The article quotes an individual stating that "50 to 60 percent of the test is teachable." While this may be true, is any one else concerned that a major factor in intelligence is actually processing and synthesizing new information and material? Are parents that coach their kids not fearful that once their child gets into a gifted program, they won't be able to handle the workload?

4. As an educator, I had a vision for myself, my students and my classroom. While the dreams should guide us, more often then not our educational dreams get sidetracked by the harsh reality that is dictated by our students' needs, the parents, administrators, state and city mandates and time constraints. One private school administrator was quoted as saying that he wanted "...a class full of daydreamers", and "wanting kids who don't want to answer the questions on those tests in the way the adults want them to be answered, because that kid is already seeing

the world differently". While a bit idealistic, this attitude may unfortunately lead kids to be

classified as weird, or as having focusing issues or having a learning delay. Hey, it sounds nice

and liberating in a magazine article.

5. Finally, I think a major solution to this G&T craze in New York City is to, I don't know, have enough strong, well run, differentiated, neighborhood schools that are in a child's catchment so they don't have be tested for G&T programs or put in a lottery just to make it into kindergarten. How about sinking your money into that Department of Education!?!

Would love to hear your thoughts!