If you've been reading (and I know you have been), you'll see that the Board of Ed has announced launched the gifted and talented testing program for the 2010/2011 school year for students entering kindergarden and the primary grades. This testing is not mandatory, it's only for parents who want their children to qualify for one of the gifted and talented program. Starting this year, for the first time, the city is choosing to enforce an old law on the books that says all students in publicly funded pre-k programs must be tested for developmental disabilities. That's right, if your child is in a universal pre-k program in public school, he/she WILL be tested.
I am not crazy about all of this testing of the youngest ones in school and there are some in education who feel the same way. As this NY1 article states, some teachers and program directors are concerned about false positive results. "You are going to have kids who are just refusing to do these tasks and won't be able to do them as their supposed to according to this assessment, simply because they are fearful. They may be uncomfortable, they may be hungry.", says Martha Foote of Time Out From Testing.
In the same article, DOE Spokesman William Havemann says about the test, "It will be used for early detection of developmental delays, and for no other purpose. It will not go in a student's permanent record, and will be used only in pre-kindergarten."
Tell us what you think. Leave a comment and tell us if your child has been or will be tested and how you feel about the issue.
