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OLSAT Test Results Mailed for New York City Gifted and Talented Program!

OLSAT Test Results Mailed for New York City Gifted and Talented Program!

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - April 26th, 2011

The NYC Department of education delivered results for the Otis Lennon School Abilities Test and the Bracken test to anxious parents in New York City for acceptance into the gifted and talented program. The NYC DOE actually gets an A++ for sending out the results early this year! The test results for the OLSAT and Bracken were originally scheduled to be released in May so the Dept. of Education Gifted and Talented department gets an A+ this year!  According to the DOE web site:

Score reports for elementary school students who took Gifted & Talented exams will be mailed to families beginning Tuesday, April 26. Families who applied online will receive score reports by email and standard mail. The deadline for families to apply to elementary school Gifted & Talented programs is Tuesday, May 10. 

Here’s what we’ve heard from a few of our TestingMom.com members today:

Parent in Manhattan at 8:02 am this morning: “Not sure if you heard, but they e-mailed the results at around 12:20AM today.  Our child did okay but not “great.”  On the Bracken, did awesome.  He got 82/88, putting him in the 99% BUT his OLSAT was not as high.  For verbal he got 10/14, and with Non-Verbal he got 17/26, for a total of 27/40, which put him in the 90%.  As you had noted OLSAT is 75% and Bracken is 25%, so his combined G&T Percentile rank was 94%.  To apply for the Citywide Gifted programs, he needed a 97%.”
 
Parent in Queens at 9:17am this morning: “My kid got selected in G & T, though cannot access scores online for some reason. There is no option to put pin number after logging into their website. Called DOE, they said score reports will be sent by postal service also, so waiting on that.  THANK YOU, I just followed on your suggestion. Didn’t send her to any enrichment classes, very expensive on our budget :(. We are currently staying in district 26, bayside, have a good zoned school nearby.”
 
Tell us your story or ask your question below!


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42 Responses

Sarah

Got my son’s score via email. He did not make the G & T program. His combined score was 67 percentile. He scored in the 99 percentile on the Bracken but in the 43 percentile on the OLSAT. Can someone help me interpret these results? It seems from some of my reading that the Bracken is based on knowledge and learned material versus the OLSAT which is more of an “intelligence” test. Does this mean my son so far does better on achievement type test and not aptitude type test?

TestingMom.com

Thanks for the information Sarah. We’ll be addressing the OLSAT test scores and how they correspond to the Bracken during our tele-seminar on Thursday at 8pm ET where we discuss the NYC gifted and talented program school selection process.

Imani

I am a very disappointed parent for so many reasons as I received my sons results this morning and know he could have done a lot better. My question is as follow:

1) Can my son be retested as I know when the test was conducted I strongly believe he rushed through the exam and finished in about 25-30 minutes. I strongly believe the facilitator should have ensured my son took full benifit of the entire time as he is 4 y/o. What can I do about this?

Laurie

For the teleseminar I would like to ask the following question: My son scored 92% (99 brkn and 87 olsat). We are in D3 which now only has 3 schools (9, 166 and 163). From reviewing the qualifications it seems that as long as we apply to all 3 schools he is guaranteed to get into one. I don’t understand how this could be possible when I have read that to get into 9 or 166 a child would need to score at least 96%. How can 163 accept all the kids in D3 that receive a 90-96%?

Anna

Our son got 93 (90 in OLSAT and 98 in Bracken). To be frank, we were expecting/hoping for better. We were surprised by this OLSAT verbal score being low – only half correct. Not sure if we could have done anything about it…

We might make an appointment to review the exam to make sure that there wasn’t anything wrong like missing pages. I think I understand the procedure (mail a letter request or request online from May 2), but the timing doesn’t make sense to me, since we have to submit our applications by May 10 and if there needs to be any adjustment to our son’s score, or a retest, how can we make our school selection properly? For instance, what if in an extreme case, our son’s score was actually a 97 which would then make him eligible for a Citywide school? We can’t even tour most Citywide schools right now because you have to show eligibility to tour.

Also, in terms of school selection, is it possible to apply to a District G&T school not in our district? We found a District G&T program that we like which is not in our district but closer than our district options, and with spare capacity (according to insideschools.org)!

Kate

During your teleseminar on Thursday evening can you discuss the process by which parents can visit G&T schools their children are eligible for and when those visits might occur?

TestingMom.com

Sure Kate…we’ll provide you with the information on the NYC gifted and talented school selection and how it all works. Thanks – Testing Mom

Abbie

Hello, I did not receive the results via email or mail. Should I be concerned? Is there another way to access the test results? Thanks

Inga

I didn’t receive the results either…..

TestingMom.com

Keep in mind, the NYC Dept of Education will send the OLSAT test results to parents via US postal service and you should get them in the regular mail by next week. As soon as we hear more information the NYC gifted and talented test results we’ll let you know! Thanks – Testing Mom!

Lara

I ranked the schools thinking I knew what I wanted. Can I delete it and re-rank? If I still want to keep my #1 choice the same, only wanting to change #2, does that effect the results in some way? or does DOE just shuffle everyone after May 10th?

EC

Can you please also explain if we should bring the kid with us for the school tour?
Also, how many choices should I pick? How does DOE determine which kids go to which school? Is it by score only? If I am eligible for citywide G&T and I pick 2 of the 5 schools, is there a possibility that our kid will be accepted in both?

Ria

I live in D3- is it true that children who meet G and T criteria and who live in the PS9 zone get preference over other G and T kids to get into PS9?
Thanks

Joan

I called the NYCDOE to protest my son’s test scores (because something went terribly wrong with his scores), but I was told there’s no “appeals” process, and that he has to wait to retake next year. What else can I do? (Mr. McCurdy, I called the NYCDOE phone number you gave me, but this is what they say…)

TestingMom.com

Hi Joan – give us a call to discuss your situation. Thanks – Testing Mom

Queenian

I have the following questions:

Does the distance between home and school have any factor in how DOE assigning the student to which school? Say if there are two kids with 99% percentile and they both apply to the Anderson school. If one lives in Manhattan and one lives in Queens, will DOE only give the seat to the one who lives in Manhattan because he is closer to the school?
Does Anderson G&T program only takes student with 99% in OLSAT or it is just a myth?
Do teachers in G&T class NEED have a special license to teach G&T students?
My kid has a 99% pct on the test, if I only pick one Citywide G&T school, and 1 local district, do we have a better chance to get into the citywide G&T school?

Joseph

Hi = question for tele-seminar.

Our son got a 99% the G&T test.
He is zoned and registered in what we think is a great school, which happens to be in the same building as the Anderson school. And, it happens to be two blocks away from where we live. Base on the fact that his catchment school appears to be a great school and the proximity factor we are only really interested in G&T if he can get into the Anderson school.

My questions are:
• the city wide programs are based on a lottery – is the lottery performed for each school you request or is it a group lottery of your selections.

• does it hurt or help to sign up for all 5 city wide schools, bearing in mind we are only really interested in the Anderson School?

• how much better is the G&T program at schools other than Anderson compared to a PS 87 or a PS 452?

Thank you

Joseph

Abbie

The following are my questions for tonight’s teleconference:

-My daughter is currently signed up to start Kindergarten at PS 8 (Brooklyn Heights). She scored 93 and her G&T program options in Brooklyn are PS 009, PS 003, PS 282 (Park Slope). Are these better options than PS 8 (which has a good reputation but no G & T program)?
-I will also be applying to private school kindergarten programs for next year. Shall I mention my daughter’s G & T test scores? Will it help or hurt her? Will she look more desirable for private school if she is in a G & T program vs. PS 8? She will be taking the ERB next month and had no preparation for the G & T test, so I am hoping she will do much better on her ERB score.
THANKS YOU SO MUCH! Look forward to the conference call.

Stefan

How do I register for the teleconference or how do I access it? Thank you.

Stefan

Hello, a question for the teleconference:

How different is the curriculum between the citywide and district programs? For district programs, how do schools differentiated between G&T and regular classes when the teachers are the same?

Natalia

How many more spots are added to G&T programs in the 1st grade?

Patty

Do you think taking the ERB is good practice for the G&T testing even though I will not apply to private?

Stefan

Our son got 99. We live in Queens. All citywide schools are far away from us. We are struggling to decide if a long commute for him would be worth it or should we focus on the district ones (that seem good but not extraordinary). Any advice on these issues (long commute, district vs citywide. etc) is appreciated.

Lucy

My got a 94 last year to enter Kindergarten. But because I didn’t like the school he could go to, I didn’t sign him up. He took the test in Jan for 1st grade and got a 81. He got a nearly perfect score in the Bracken test, and he did very well in non verbal in the OLSAT. Verbal reasoning he got 16 of 30 correct. How could this discrepancy be? I firmly believe something went wrong. At 5 he reads a 1st grade book to me and tells me the plot as he should.

I know that my son was uncomfortable with the stranger that gave him the exam. I also bicker with him because he doesn’t “listen” as most smarty pants 5 year old do at this age. Also, is it possible to see a copy of this year’s OLSAT? I do know something is not right.

I know a person whose child goes to PS8 in Bklyn. her child reads at my son’s level who is in kindergarten. I do know my son is smart and challenged enough in school. I will keep my son in his parochial school. I have no idea why the board of ed is making parents compete for a decent, free education.

nalo

hi parents NEST+m is a very good school. My daughter is in there for four years and she love it there.

Stacey

I did not receive a score yet.. Does this mean that they only sent out the scores of those who passed???

Bill

My son took the G&T test, but his test was not scored. I contacted the DOE and they said that his application and name were in the system, but that they received no test scores for him. They gave me additional contact information to pursue this further. I received no replies yet. I have also tried to discuss the situation with my son’s school principal to determine if his test was even submitted, but I have yet to receive a reply.

My son scored well into the G&T range in the last two years, but there was no good program for him to attend in our district. Nonetheless, we wanted to see how he did this year and to see if he might score in the range to be eligible for a city-wide program.

We are familiar with the process of the G&T testing procedures and were surprised that he had no score.

Has any one had their child not receive a score before? If so, how did you pursue the issue?

Cindy

I never got my OLSAT test score, so where can I find it online?

sharmin

When are we getting our 2013 gifted and talented results

TestingMom.com

If you are in NYC, the gifted and talented test results should be released in late April! Stay tuned.

J

Is this an old post? I thought you had to submit your application by April 19th. How can the results be released by late April for 2013?

TestingMom.com

Yes, this post is from 2011. The OLSAT test results for NYC should be released some time this week!

may

i am live in NY,my son got 2013 gifted&talented,he percentile rank 93,(verbal 89,nonverbal 97).but his cunsin percentil rank 99,(verbal 89.nonverbal 99).WHY?

kashem@earthlink.net

I still did not get my 2013 olsat results in email or mail.

Do I have to worry about it. My grade is 5th grade am I supposed to get it.

When do I actually get it. Thanks

june

Can what May said be correct? My child scored 90verbal and 99nonverbal and scored 98.. but her child’s cousin scored 89verbal and 99nonverbal and got a 99? Seriously there is something wrong with these scores and it will cost an education for my child 🙁 Sorry to be so dramatic but this G&T ranking is ridiculous – how can it be so inconsistent and unfair!?

Arun

My sons olsat result appeared on the parent portal (irvine Unified in CA). It had a “99” on the pctile column. Does this mean is 99 percentile? Anyone from CA who took the olsat test in winter 2013? Did you receive the result in parent portal?

TestingMom.com

Hi Run – the OLSAT test results are scored by percentile ranking when compared to the national average. So yes, 99 means your son scored in the 99th percentile for the OLSAT test – the highest percentile possible! Congrats!

CL

I think there is something wrong with the result. My son got 99% on Nonverbal, 1% on Verbal. It is very suspicious. Any idea on how to I appeal?

TestingMom.com

You’ll need to contact the NYC dept of ed and set up an appeal with the process.

Gabriel

I am in the same situation as CL, 99% nonverbal and 50% verbal, do you have any info on how to start an appeal process? I couldn’t find anything on the web.
Thanks.

Amber

I would like to appeal as well my son took the test last year and received a 95 this year he got a 99 again in non-verbal but instead of a 75 in the verbal like last year. He received a 16 which is just to much of a decline to me. Something was wrong. How do I appeal?

TestingMom.com

You can call the Dept of Ed Service Center 212-374-6646 or email ServiceCenter@schools.nyc.gov

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