Filed under: nnat test, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: nnat test prep, NYC Gifted and Talented, OLSAT test prep, testing mom
- Although the Principal said that the gifted and talented test was supposed to last one hour, and maybe a bit longer most of the kids were out by 40 minutes. This is true for the kids testing in the session before us, and also for our session.
- My son went in at 10:40 and was out at 11:20- that included climbing up and down 2 half flights of stairs to the next floor and getting into the classrooms where the test was being administered.
- He was not the only one- about 4-5 other young boys that had gone a few minutes before him, all came back out together after taking the OLSAT test and the NNAT test. The girls were still inside when we left 5 minutes later.
- When I asked him about the gifted and talented test, he said some questions were hard so he said “I picked the wrong answer”. When I asked why he did that, he said the teacher did not say anything or tell him to try again.
- He said he had never seen any puzzles like this before (He has an almost photographic memory of the questions. One he has done some, he tends to remember them).
- He also did not remember the name of the teacher (test proctor) with whom he went. It is highly likely that they did not engage with the kids even while walking them up.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: nnat2 test, NYC Gifted and Talented, OLSAT test, testing mom
I was invited to speak on the panel for the recent PAL Workshop series on September 19, 2012 to a jammed packed crowd at the Downtown Community Center in Tribeca. The new school year means new parents to the gifted and talented process for New York City. I humbled and honored to be on the panel with the amazing Testing Mom (Karen Quinn), Dana Kaplan who is the incredible G&T kindergarten teacher at PS 33 Chelsea Prep in District 2 in Manhattan and Jane B. who has a child who just earned a coveted seat at the high-demand District 2 Lower Lab school on the Upper Eastside.
This evening session covered all aspects of the kindergarten Gifted and Talented testing process in New York City. We know that there are a lot of different test names being thrown around, especially for testing in New York City, so we want to make sure that we all achieve our common goal: helping your child create his or her own success! When I speak on these panels I like to use these sessions to help other NYC parents become very familiar with not only the specific tests that their children will be given, like the OLSAT test or the new NNAT-2 test, but also the concepts behind the tests. It’s so important for us to help our children develop the skills behind the concepts presented on these tests rather than constantly drilling them with questions.
Panel Discussion for the NYC Gifted and Talented Program
The panel focused on the evening on choosing the right school for not just your child and not just you, but for your family as a whole. There are many high-quality programs for gifted and talented children in New York City, but the most important factor in deciding which school is right for you is determining which environment will be most cohesive with your family’s lifestyle and your child’s learning process.
TestingMom.com will be hosting 2 more live events for New York City parents the week of October 21 (details on the times and locations TBD) so stay tuned!
Filed under: nnat test, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test, Parents Resources for NYC G&T | Tags: alycia zimmerman, NYC Gifted and Talented, ps 33 chlesea prep
Well, the summer has flown by as we head into another G&T year here in New York City! We went up to PS 33 Chelsea Prep yesterday to drop off some supplies for our daughter’s gifted and talented teacher this year – the incredible Mrs. Alycia Zimmeran! Our daughter is so blessed to have Mrs. Zimmerman for another year. Our daughter had Mrs. Zimmerman in first grade and now she’ll have her again for the third grade! Not sure if the public education system in New York City, no I mean Amercia, gets any better than this! Mrs. Zimmerman explempies what it means to be a dedicated, accountable, and enthusiastic teacher. I can’t say enough great things about her and her use of technology in the classrom which includes updates on her web site.
The NYC department of education did provide a brief update the new G&T handbooks which will now be available in early October, according to the DOE web site. There are MANY changes expected to come into play for the New York City gifted and talented program. Make sure you go to TestingMom.com and get free practice questions for the OLSAT test and the NNAT test – it will come sooner than you think! It’s never too early to start preparing your talented tot!
Keep me posted on how the first week of schools go, especially to all the G&T parents across all the 5 boroughs!
Filed under: nnat test, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: NYC Gifted and Talented, PS 33 Chelsea Prep
This past school year my daughter completed second grade in the New York City gifted and talented program at PS 33 Chelsea Prep in District 2. The principal, Linore Lindy, created another great year as the G&T program expanded through 3rd grade this year and going to 4th grade for the 2012-2013 school year. Overall, the 2011-2012 school year was a great success and kudos to Ms. Alison Epstein who taught the second grade gifted and talented class at PS 33 this past year. As you can tell by the photos below, the curriculum is 1 to 2 years ahead of a general ed second grade not only in New York City but across the nation.
Are you preparing your child for the G&T test for 2012-2013 then make sure you practice with the new Aristotle Circle workbook for the NNAT. Trust me, the NNAT test is super-duper difficult and is even timed! Now that’s even more pressure for our talented tots.
Part of the curriculum on the wall at PS 33 Chelsea Prep for 2nd grade G&T. Division in second grade!
Stories from American History written by each of the children in the gifted and talented class at PS 33 for second grade.
G&T parents at PS 33 visit the classroom to the writers workshop! Principal Linore Lindy visited the class while parents were there.
Learning division in the gifted and talented class at PS 33 Chelsea Prep in New York City. Great practice for the OLSAT test level D and level E.
A class project of building a town to learn history and geography all in second grade.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: NYC Gifted and Talented, OLSAT test prep
I read the most interesting article about a New York City mother’s story about the tedious process of the school selection after her daughter took the OLSAT test for the gifted and talented program for this year.
Here’s her story:
If you applied for a Kindergarten spot to the New York City’s Gifted and Talented Program for your child, then welcome to the finish line. The G & T placement offers are being released this week, marking the end of the brutal trifecta that some New York parents went through this year with the goal of securing the best educational option for their children.
If you don’t know what I’m referring to, first of all, you are lucky. If you have heard rumors or unreasonable tales, I tell you now: it’s all true. Every word. I was born and raised in the Washington Square area of New York City, and being a cool native, I swore I wouldn’t sweat it out. But, a cucumber I was not. We did it all, and though we started on the right foot and with all good, controlled intentions, curves came up on our road that were so sharp, our wheels lifted.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: naglieri test, NYC Gifted and Talented
In case you didn’t hear, the New York City Department of Education has decided to no longer user the BSRA (Bracken School Readiness Assessment) for entry into the NYC gifted and talented program. This only impacts students taking the G&T test this coming school year (2012-13). All the students in the program will not have to retake the test. The OLSAT test will remain in place and be used in conjunction with the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT). Keep in the mind, the NNAT-2 is much more difficult than the BSRA and is no walk in the park, that’s for sure. I’m sure this will have a direct impact of the number of students qualifying for the G&T program since the difficulty level on the NNAT is much higher when compared to the Bracken.
We still don’t know if the NYC dept. of ed. will make the NNAT test score only 25% of the admission requirement (the OLSAT test is currently 75% of the admission requirement) into the gifted program (like its predecessor) or it will become a higher percentage of the overall score required when the G&T test results come out next spring. You can read more on this policy change for the Naglieri.
If you’re looking for free Naglieri test prep questions you can go to Testing Mom and review the concepts your child will be expected to know. As you will be able to tell, these questions on the NNAT test are much more difficult than those found on the BSRA.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program | Tags: Bracken School Readiness Assessment, Bracken test, naglieri test, NYC Gifted and Talented, NYC Gifted and Talented Program
Can scoring in the 99th percentile on the OLSAT test no longer guarantee your child a spot in the NYC G&T program? In this last round of NYC gifted and talented testing, 11 percent of OLSAT test-takers scored in the Top 1 percent; meaning 1,603 children scored in the 99th percentile out of the 14,239 test-takers. DNA info reports this is a nearly 50 percent increase in the number of eligible kindergarteners over last year. The number of children scoring in the Top 1% has steadily been rising over the years, but with 11% of children tested in the Top 1%, this year is a new high.
For a child to be eligible for any of the five NYC G&T programs, they must score in the 97th to 99th percentile on the OLSAT and BSRA test combined. Although, nexts year the Naglieri (NNAT) will take the place of the Bracken (BSRA test). In those five NYC G&T programs, there are fewer than 400 seats available for the incoming kindergarten class. Testing into the G&T program is available for Kindergarten to 3rd grade, but the number of children accepted into the program decreases with every grade increase. So testing your child later than Kindergarten is an automatic disadvantage in the system.
Further exasperating the size problem are the siblings within the system, with a spot reserved for the sibling of a child already in the G&T program, provided that sibling has eligible scores. An article at Inside Schools provided the sibling break down in the 5 different NYC gifted and talented rograms. At STEM in Queens, 4 seats are reserved for siblings and 12 seats are set-aside for siblings at Brooklyn School of Inquiry. NEST+M already has 15 out of the 100 seats saved, and for The Anderson School, 16 seats out of the 50 are destined for qualified siblings. That is 12% of the incoming spots for the NYC G&T program taken, in addition to more children qualifying for those spots. The shortage of spots in the NYC gifted program affected school visits as well, with The Anderson School only opening tours for parents of children who scored in the 99th percentile. Even with this limiting of spots, the school could not accommodate all the parents that wanted to visit.
Despite an outcry from the parents of gifted children to expand the G&T program in New York City, the Department of Education has no current plan for expansion. However, the DOE will replace the Bracken School Readiness Assessment with the more challenging Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test. This new exam places the stress on cognitive ability with identifying patterns and sequences, instead of simply identifying shapes and colors. The DOE will change how they weigh the tests as well, with the OLSAT 8 currently being weighed at 75% with Bracken at 25%. The test is changing, the weighing of the tests is changing, and the number of children testing into eligibility is increasing, decreasing the spots available. So what is a parent to do?
Practice and Prepare for the test to ensure your child is in the Top 1%, so they can even have a chance at getting into the right G&T School for them. To get 100 free practice questions for the G&T exam, to start preparing your child now, go to TestingMom.com.
If you’d like additional prep questions or added to my newsletter fill out the form below.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: karen quinn, NYC Gifted and Talented, testingmom.com
In case you didn’t hear, best-selling author, testing authority and co-founder of TestingMom.com (the site with 50 free practice questions), Karen Quinn will be have a live Q&A session for parents in New York City next Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30pm in downtown Manhattan. This will be a MUST ATTEND session for any NYC parents out there who are going through the testing and school selection process for both public gifted and talented and private schools in New York City. Here are a few of the many questions that will be answered during this 2 hour session! You can register here but you better hurry, I heard it’s almost sold out!
Topic: Be in “the know” – a sneak peek behind the testing kimono! Testing authorities reveal answers not known to the general public. Discover what the Dept of Ed and private schools won’t tell you!
- The OLSAT test is over, now what? What should you do now that your little one has taken the test?
- What are the many options for private schools and G&T schools in NYC?
- What questions should you be asking during school tours for both G&T and private schools? Where to find secret school ratings given by parents and teachers at each of the New York City public schools.
- How do you go about seeing your child’s OLSAT test results and what should you look for during the test review?
- What about school rankings for NYC gifted and talented programs?
- Private school results are out next week – what if we are wait listed at our first choice school? Private school contracts are due before we know about gifted program admissions – how do we handle this?
- Looking at private school admissions for 2012-13, what should we do this spring?
- And many more.
- Live audience Q&A!
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, Parents Resources for NYC G&T | Tags: NYC Gifted and Talented, PS 33 chelse prep
The Halloween spirit was high at PS 33 Chelsea Prep with costume galore! The best part wasn’t the candy and treats but the newest addition to the Halloween spirit of the vocabulary parade! No, it’s not practice of the OLSAT test but added an incredible learning component to dressing up for trick-or-treat. Each student was given a word and then had to dress-up for Halloween that decribed the word. The costumes were amazing but the words these young lads were taunting about were those you’d hear in the halls of junior high and high school, not amongst 2nd and 3rd graders! Here are a few photos of the event and a big thanks to Alycia Zimmerman who spearheaded the event. Mrs. Zimmerman is one of the incredible G&T teachers at PS 33 and make sure you check out her classroom web site.
Is this on the OLSAT test? No, it's one of big words from the 2nd grade Gifted and Talented class at PS 33 Chelsea Prep!
The G&T Class at PS 33 Chelsea Prep Parade Across the Stage
PS Chelsea Prep Vocabulary Parade for Halloween!
If you’d like to be added to my gifted and talented newsletter or free OLSAT sample questions let me know by emailing me at skipper646@gmail.com. If you can’t wait, you can also get 50 free gifted and talented questions at TestingMom.com.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, Parents Resources for NYC G&T | Tags: G&T admissions, NYC Gifted and Talented, OLSAT
In 2006, NYC’s gifted and talented program admissions criteria and testing methods were standardized in order to simplify the testing process city-wide. While this program change seemed to make good administrative sense at the time, in the years that have followed, many questions have arisen regarding the admissions criteria for the NYC city-wide gifted and talented program.
In 2008, the admittance of NYC children in poorer school districts and primarily minor school systems in the city were significantly lower than in other parts of the city’s gifted and talented program. Many schools had some students qualify, but not enough to support a full NYC gifted and talented program.
In 2010, admittance rates in many of these poorer and minority school districts dropped even further, with several schools seeing no students make it into the score range necessary for admittance to the New York City G&T program. As a result, the New York City gifted and talented department of education has decided to review testing procedures and to search for new ones that will level the playing field for students throughout the city.
To get OLSAT test sample questions or to be added to my gifted and talented newsletter list email me at skipper646@gmail.com. Don’t forget, you can get 50 free practice questions on TestingMom.com.
