NY Daily News: Gifted test to be used to identify slow learners, too

New York plans to give an assessment to kindergartners to assess who gets into gifted programs and who might need special education services too. No mention of NAEP, but has general implications for testing.

A test school officials plan to give kindergartners to make gifted programs more accessible will also be used to assess academic ability, the Daily News has learned.

Starting next fall, schools will give the Bracken School Readiness Assessment in all kindergarten classes to identify which children should be further tested for coveted spots in gifted programs.

But the standardized test, which gauges understanding of letters, numbers, colors and shapes, is also designed to identify learning disabilities and find out where kids stand when they enter school.

Continue reading