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New gifted testing in New York may begin at age 3

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City education officials revealed this month that they would begin searching for a new gifted admissions test in response to complaints about low minority representation in gifted programs and concerns that professional test preparation services skew the results.

But any new test is unlikely to alleviate what many parents consider the most anxiety-producing part of the process — sending 4-year-olds into an exam that could decide their schooling for the next six years. In fact, the city may begin testing even earlier.

While the city says it is open to considering other options, it will most likely continue to rely on standardized tests for prekindergarteners as the central admissions criteria for the elite programs, and under the new protocol, which would begin for the 2012-13 school year, it could begin testing 3-year-olds born late in the year.

Full story: New Gifted Testing in New York May Begin at Age 3 – NYTimes.com