Testing Opportunities NYC

Testing Opportunities NYC

Frances Kweller is the founder of Kweller Prep Tutoring and Educational Services, with locations in Queens and Manhattan.  Her company provides tutoring, mentorship, and support for students and helps guide families with the specialized elementary, middle, and high school admissions processes. 

Have a bright kid? Here are some great, free NYC public schools, which offer gifted, talented, and specialized programs to help Junior excel.

Question:  How do I know if I have a “Bright Kid”?

Answer: According to NYS standards, your child must score in the 90^th percentile of higher on his or her state entrance exams in English Language Arts and mathematics. Some private Schools offer ERB’s and/or Terra Nova exams, and the same rule applies: he or she must score in the 90^th percentile or higher to be considered among the “gifted” in NYC.

Question: What’s the advantage of having a “Bright Kid”?

The NYC Department of Education provides select students with the opportunity to “test-in” to specialized programs that will challenge them moreseo than the generalized school’s curriculum.  These are known as “Gifted and Talented” programs, “Specialized” programs, or just schools with particularly rigorous curriculums.

Question: What type of testing just my child need to take to enter a gifted program?

A: for K-3, the Department of Education will offer an exam called the OLSAT. This is basically an IQ test, which has many patterns and combinations that test’s a child’s intelligence quotient. The OLSAT stands for the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test. The second exam is the NNAT. This test is similar to the OLSAT-E in that it too offers puzzles and measures analytic reasoning. Here too, you can expect to see analogies  (cat:dog as …). The NNAT stands for the “Non-Verbal Ability Test”.  

Question: Is there any special treatment for siblings? I don’t want my two kids in separate schools.

A: Yes. Older siblings already enrolled in gifted schools receive priority in the admissions process. In the event that the second sibling doesn’t qualify for a gifted program, then he or she may apply for a generalized program within the same school, assuming the school offers that option.

Question: How many “Gifted Programs” are there?

New York City has 32 districts that offer gifted programs. In addition, there are five additional programs for “highly gifted” students, those who score in the 97^th percentile on their state exams.

Grade by Grade:

Here are just some “gifted schools” that parents of high-performing children should definitely check out.

1. Nest+M is a K-12 school on the Lower East Side.

2.The Anderson School is located on the Upper West Side.

3.The Talented and Gifted School for Young Scholars is located n East Harlem.

4. The Brooklyn School of Inquiry is a K-8 school in Bensonhurst.

5. The Science, Technology, Enrichment, and Math (STEM) Academy is in Astoria. The K-8 program recently expanded to become a separate entity, with its own principal. Please note that PS 17 offers gifted programs for elementary school children and is part of PS 85.  Additionally, IS 86 offers gifted programs for middle school students and is also part of PS 85.

6. Hunter College has a renown elementary school. Applicant seats are limited to Manhattan residents only.

7. The Special Music School is located on the Upper West Side.

8. The Central Park Easy School (I and II) offer acceerated programs as well

9. Ella Baker is a select school in Manhattan and accepts applications from all over NYC. pplications from all over the city.

10. The Midtown West School only accepts select students zoned for District 2.

11.The Manhattan School for Children only accepts students zoned for District 3.

12. The Children’s School; District 15 only.

13. The Brooklyn New School; Brooklyn only with preference given to children living in Districts 13, 14, 15, and 16.