The Department of Education lost the entry tests of over 80 kids applying to Gifted and Talented Schools. Many of our clients were in this list and we at Bright Kids have never seen anything like this.
A total of 12,834 4 and 5-year-olds kids took the Gifted and Talented exam in January to vie for admission to coveted district and citywide programs.
But many applicants who took the exam at PS 89 Liberty School in Tribeca didn’t get their scores last month when the DOE released results. Parents were calling us and we could not give them any answers. They were frustrated dealing with DOE who have been given them every excuse in the book or simply avoiding them.
After weeks of evasion, the DOE finally admitted that they had lost the tests in an email on May 15 to parents. UPS lost a box of tests administered at a site in Manhattan’s District 2 that were supposed to be taken to the vendor for scoring, a department spokeswoman said on Wednesday. She said the Gifted and Talented program will offer retests as soon as it is safe to do so and affected children who qualify for gifted programs will get seats. Still with school openings in limbo, the future is uncertain.
With Gifted and Talented placements scheduled for release next month, impacted parents said their children will be unfairly cut out of the competition. But parents worry how their kids would qualify without having a chance to take the test in time. The trust towards DOE is minimal at this point.