The third time might be the charm for Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and city gifted-and-talented programs.
Emphasis on might.
To some fanfare, Klein recently introduced a new approach to gauging eligibility for the G&T programs.
This is one area where the otherwise standards-focused chancellor has stumbled in the past. In 2003, then-Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam set out, as she put it, to “expand the definition of what it means to be gifted and talented.”
Her goal was to change the program’s complexion – literally. That is, she wanted to shift the racial balance of the kids who qualify.
Lam didn’t last long, and her plan vanished with her. But two years later, Klein was trying again. Under guise of a seemingly merit-based approach, the city Department of Education added to the usual aptitude tests such fuzzy criteria as “creativity” and “motivation.”
Now comes Round Three.
Klein’s latest plan aims to re-emphasize objective standards. The schools would give students two comprehensive aptitude tests, then compare the composite score to national figures. Only kids who score better than 95 percent of students nationally would qualify for G&T programs. (All current G&T students will remain in the program.)
To address the ongoing concerns over the “diversity” of the programs, Klein means to ensure that all city public-school students get at least a rudimentary G&T evaluation. That is, the door will no longer be open only to those who make their way to the selected spots around the city where the tests were administered.
The change thus widens the pool of kids who have an opportunity to become G&T students – even as it raises standards as a whole.
Last week, Klein and DOE held town-hall meetings in Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens to explain the plan. They’ll hit The Bronx and Brooklyn within the next two weeks.
The response, so far, has been muted.
But Klein needs to tread softly.
Many middle-class families see G&T as the last bastion of high-quality public-school education for their kids. If they wind up seeing this plan as another threat to the quality of a program that serves their kids well, those families will bolt the system – and perhaps the city.
However, if this is a legitimate attempt to bring higher, truly objective standards to the gifted and talented program, Klein will have done those parents a service.