GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Thousands fewer parents had their preschoolers screened for the city’s gifted kindergartens this year, but the classes could still see enrollment rise.

That’s because the sheer number of children who scored at the 90th percentile or higher on the city’s two standardized tests for gifted programs — the OLSAT and the BRSA — increased by 10 percent, even as 16 percent fewer children took the test.

The families who stayed home this year live largely in low-income areas like Harlem (District 5) and the South Bronx (District 7), which saw a 30 percent and 52 percent drop in test takers, respectively. The only two districts to see an increase in students sitting for the exam were District 2, which includes most of Manhattan below 59th Street and the Upper East Side, and Brooklyn’s District 13.

Last year, far more families chose to have their children screened for gifted programs, and as a result more children qualified. One reason for the jump was that for the first time all districts planned to offer gifted classes in kindergarten. But this year, the number of test takers dropped back down to its level in 2008, when many districts did not offer gifted classes until first grade. (more…)