As of October 2012 some of this information is outdated.  Please click here to view updates:

http://www.brainyacademyny.com/big-changes-with-placement-for-gt-test-you-need-to-read-this/

All children in New York City are qualified to take the gifted and talented test in pre-kindergarden. If the child scores 97 or above he or she may apply to the citywide gifted and talented schools as well as multiple district programs. In the past years the city guaranteed a placement in a district program for those children who qualified. This is no longer the case and placement into a district program is no longer guaranteed.

A child may also take the gifted and talented test while enrolled in kindergarten (to qualify for first grade admission) and in higher grades. However, the child has a lower chance of being admitted into a district program (due to limited number of spots opened after kindergarten) and almost no chance of being admitted into a citywide program.

Programs vary widely by district with some districts offering as few as 3 district wide programs, and some offering as many as 12.  If you reside in Sheepshead Bay (district 21) depending on your actual address you may have as many as 12 programs to choose from. These include popular programs such as Manahttan Beach Gifted and Talented (PS 195) and Mill Basin Gifted and Talented (PS 236). You may rank programs out of your district however your chances of getting into those programs are lower as districted students will be placed first. You do not lose anything by ranking programs outside your district.

In Bensonhurst (district 20) at least 8 programs are available (maybe more depending on your address). A popular district program in district 20 is  (at ps 200) is a bilingual english russian program called “GLOBE.”

In order to qualify for admission into a district Gifted and Talented program the child must score at least 90 on the G&T test and reside in the correct district.  As with citywide schools children with the highest scores are given first priority on a lottery basis.  For instance, lets say 4 year old Alfred scored a 94 and his friend John scored a 96.  Because John has scored 2 points higher than Alfred he will be placed much faster (even if he pulls an unlucky number in the lottery) and therefore has a better chance of getting picked for his first or second choice program.  Alfred, no matter how lucky he might get in the lottery is still going to be placed after John. The best he can hope for is to be the first of the 94s picked. When it comes to district program placement, every point counts.

This article is part 3 of a 3 part series.  Part 1 is available here.