Enrollment in Gifted Programs Shrinks in Wake of City Measures Meant to Widen Admissions
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Meredith Kolodner, New York Daily News, Oct. 20, 2008
The number of kids in the coveted gifted classes plunged 50% this year, as did the percentage of minorities enrolled—after the city changed the admissions process to level the playing field.
{snip}
The Education Department dropped the passing score from 95% to 90% to get more kids into the program.
Part of the problem was that children who qualified for the programs didn’t live in the neighborhoods where the classes were offered.
{snip}
Advocates bemoaned the drop in diversity.
While the majority of children in the city’s elementary schools are Black and Hispanic, the majority of kindergarteners and first graders in the gifted and talented programs are white and Asian.
{snip}
(Posted on October 30, 2008)
Comments
“New York City effort to make gifted program more “diverse” fails.”
Well, it’s back to the drawing board to think up another whole new pack of lies and deceits to use to try to reverse reality.
Posted by q at 5:37 PM on October 30
I was in the gifted programs and most of my relatives are or were also.
Lowering the standards has destroyed many of the programs.
If you lower the standards then the real gifted kids are bored to death.
If you force minorities into the programs who do not qualify on the same standards as the white gifted children it is quickly obvious to everyone that the minorities are there by fraud and the standards are not the same for everyone.
Wake up the stupid people. It is the gifted people who discover new things and solve most problems. Do allow them to reach for their potential instead of waiting around for others who never catch up or the USA will sink to the level of the everyone is equal socialist tribal run countries and be unable to rise above grinding poverty in a generation.
Posted by Oldman at 6:37 PM on October 30
Same OLD story – even middle class blacks see the same gap:
http://www.shaker.org/news/releases/1998/1998.10.23.htm
and pretend outrage when the truth gets out. The best thing may be to not advertise the gap and continue the tracking system for the benefit of the students:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/regional/080400ny-nyack.html
Posted by Chessplayer at 6:45 PM on October 30
So, in other words, dropping the standard from 95% (which is too high for gifted anyway, IMHO) to 90% meant that more whites could get in, but not enough non-whites are between 90 and 95. The eventual solution will be to exclude whites and lower to standard to 50%.
Posted by Question Diversity at 6:50 PM on October 30
Dropping the standards for the gifted program. One might infer that the gifted program is to develop those whose talents exceed the standards. Is advancement of the human race supposed to come to a standstill while we wait for these people to catch up?
Posted by at 7:05 PM on October 30
“While the majority of children in the city’s elementary schools are Black and Hispanic, the majority of kindergarteners and first graders in the gifted and talented programs are white and Asian.”
It’s either a pure coincidence, or a plot by the evil whites and asians!
Posted by at 7:20 PM on October 30
“The number of kids in the coveted gifted classes plunged 50% this year, as did the percentage of minorities enrolled — after the city changed the admissions process to level the playing field.”
There was a commercial years ago with kids calling out to their mother in the kitchen, “is it soup yet?” The mother replies, “not yet”. Finally, the soup is done and the kids ask, “is it soup yet?” to which the mother replies, “it’s soup!”
To quote Madison Aveue, “It’s soup”.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 9:08 PM on October 30
South Africa has shown the world that diversity is possible and is able to include all races. Black genius: 71%; Indian genius: 78%;
white genius: 91%. The difference is due to the legacy of apartheid, although none of the pupil grew up under apartheid. In the states it is due to the legacy of slavery, every time I stray into a black area, I am surrounded by groups of blacks pleading with me not to beat them.
Posted by ciccio at 10:23 PM on October 30
When is this country going to stop the madness unleased by the so-called Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. Why is it so important that inferior genes have to be equal with superior in all situations? What have been accomplished? Nothing, asolutely nothing except the continuous dowwhill slide of this country in every aspect.
Posted by at 11:45 PM on October 30
Look at the title of this article. It is a ridiculous contradiction.
Par for the course when it comes to discussing gifted students.
Posted by Reader-1 at 1:29 AM on October 31
*sigh* This stupid little “level the playing field” game is getting a bit old, ain’t it lefties?
Posted by Snesgamer at 4:03 AM on October 31
I teach in an all black school. Our “gifted” classes consist of children who are reading and doing math at grade level. In my “regular” class, half of the students are functioning way below grade level; the rest are close to grade level but still below.
Posted by ex-liberal at 7:21 AM on October 31
I said in a long ago post that my sons were in the S.C. gifted and talented program which was exemplary in it’s students. Attempts to lower criteria for admission to allow the inevitable blacks in was protested against by teachers (black and white) but their protests went unheeded and sadly, the program went away.
Posted by Skip at 12:43 PM on October 31
Racism in America is defined by the result.
And blacks will ALWAYS have worse results, so therefore whites will always be demonized.
Even if there is a black president - and more likely especially when there is a black president.
Do you think Obama and the black leadership he will stack our federal government with will accept resonsibility for failure? Or do you think they will direct the power and resources of the federal government towards scapegoating whites - probably laughing as they destroy your life with perhaps a few black IRS agents?
Posted by at 1:04 PM on October 31
This happened in Buffalo New York when the magnet schools with Gt programs lowered their standards 10 years ago, as a result a school population would experienced an influx of less qualified students. Schools with an inherent civility became more difficult for teachers especially in terms of classroom management. I witnessed this and often staff would complain in private, noting the reduced nature of true giftedness.
Posted by at 5:56 PM on October 31
“I think when you shift towards admission critieria that relies so heavily on standardized tests, it seems that you’re bound to import some of the bias that comes with those tests.”
True, the tests are biased precisely in favor of those students possessing cognitive skills for which one would called them “gifted”. I.e., it’s biased only in favor of gifted kids. This Kim Sweet cannot admit.
Posted by Sane Man at 12:01 AM on November 2