It’s that time of the year! The Department of Education has changed things around again this year (no surprise there!) so here are some of the changes.
Before I put it all down, let me first say that this post will be long AND perhaps distressing. This is bureaucracy at its best- but remember, you can get through it! If you have questions I would suggest joining the Brooklyn School Search Yahoo group. A lot of parents on this Yahoo group have been through it before and are happy to give advice and exchange information.
Brooklyn School Search

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bklynschoolsearch/

This is a forum for parents interested in joining forces and
sharing ideas and thoughts on brooklyn public and private elementary
schools, the application process, lotteries, zoning, districts,
experiences etc. Since its such a trying process, this forum is to help
the community gather in one place and discuss relevant issues to this topic.

Between Dec. 3 – Jan 3: Send an e-mail to: [email protected] or call 212-374-5219  to request testing forms.

Jan 22 – Feb 15: OLSAT/BSRA testing at school sites for public school students

Jan 22-27, Feb 2-3, Feb 9-10: OLSAT/BSRA testing at selected sites for non-public school students

By March 31: Score reports and applications mailings

By April 23: Applications returned with program choices

May 3,4,10:  Citywide on-site assessments

By May 31: Placement offers to parents

BoroughEnrollment

How To Request Testing for
the Gifted & Talented Program 2007-08
The
following outlines what parents should do and expect if they are
interested in having their child tested for possible placement in a
Gifted & Talented program:

Parents
must obtain a copy of The New York City Gifted and Talented Program
Test Information Handbook 2007-2008, which will be available starting December 3.  The
handbook will be available at all public elementary schools for parents
of students currently enrolled in public school.For parents of
non-public school children, the handbooks will be available at all Borough Enrollment Centers and on-line. Included in the handbook is a Request for Testing Form. Parents must complete this form if they want their child tested. Parents of students currently enrolled in a NYC public school will return the Request for Testing Form to their child’s school. Parents of non-public school children will return the Request for Testing Form to any Borough Enrollment Office. All forms are due by close of business on January 3.

Once
the Request for Testing Form has been completed and returned to the
DOE, children will be scheduled for the Gifted & Talented
assessments. Children currently enrolled in grades Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2 in a NYC public school
(and applying for a Gifted & Talented placement in grades K
through 3 in September 2008) will be tested at their own schools during
the school day.

Each elementary school will schedule the exact date and time of testing for children enrolled in their schools. Schools will inform families of the date and time of the testing. Testing must be scheduled for a date between January 22 and February 15, 2008.

DOE teachers will administer the tests to non-public school students at selected sites throughout the city on the following weekends: January 26 – 27, February 2 – 3, or February 9 – 10, 2008. Parents of non-public school students will be contacted by mail with a specific test date, time and location. Parents should be sure to carefully review the testing information.

Please note: There is a separate handbook for each Date of Birth year for children that will be tested. Be sure to take the handbook that reflects your child’s date of birth. The
handbook will include an OLSAT Practice Test.  As these tests are
normed and scored by age, it is important to obtain the correct
handbook. Use the OLSAT Practice Test to
familiarize your children with the test experience and the types of
questions and items they may encounter on the actual test. The version of the Test Information Handbook that will be available on-line will not include the OLSAT Practice Test. Parents must be sure to obtain a Test Information Handbook from their child’s public school or a Borough Enrollment Center that includes the OLSAT Practice Test.

Once children are tested, Harcourt Assessment, Inc. will score all the tests. All families will receive a Test Score Report. Only children who score at or above the 95^th
percentile will qualify for placement to a district Gifted &
Talented Program and only children who score at or above the 97^th percentile will qualify for placement to a Citywide Gifted & Talented school.

To review the final recommendation Gifted and Talented admission policies and procedures for 2007-2008 click here.

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