Chinanews.com, January 14 According to a report compiled by Qiaobao.com, this spring (2021), the New York Department of Education will hold a "gifted and talented program" entrance exam for four-year-old children, but it will be the last time.

It is reported that, taking this school year as an example, Asian children accounted for 43% of the "gifted class".

　　According to Spectrum News, classrooms in New York City are the most segregated in the United States.

In recent years, as Mayor Bai Sihao promised to diversify the city’s classrooms, the city’s "gifted class" has become a fuse.

　　Despite the huge controversy, the plan has received support from different political parties, especially many parents.

They believe that the city should increase the number of people in the project, rather than cancel the project.

　　The competition for "gifted classes" is fierce: about 15,000 kindergarten students apply for 2500 places each year, and students who can enter the program are considered to be expected to enter the city's most competitive junior high school and high school.

　　Students applying for admission to the city kindergarten in the fall of 2021 are still required to take the test this year, and the test will start in April.

　　The exam is usually held in January, but the Ministry of Education stated that students’ families will receive their grades in early summer and have enough time to apply for “gifted classes” before the start of the school year.

　　Although the project will be cancelled next year (2022), it is unclear whether it will resume in the future.

The Education Bureau plans to determine the future of the project through community participation next year.

　　There is a wide gap between the proportion of Asian and white students in the city’s school system.

Taking this school year as an example, Asians accounted for 20% of kindergarten students, but they accounted for 43% of "gifted classes".

White students accounted for 20% of all kindergarten students, and 36% of "gifted classes".

　　At the same time, although 40% of kindergarten students are Hispanic, they account for only 8% of "gifted classes."

African-American students accounted for 17% of kindergarten students, but only 6% of "gifted classes".

　　In 2019, the mayor formed a working group to help increase school diversity.

The team recommends that the city no longer separate students who are considered gifted and talented from their peers.

Maya Wiley participated in chairing the working group, and she is running for mayor.

　　Those who are already studying in the "gifted class" and those who will enter the program this fall can complete the primary school project.

　　Although the mayor has publicly expressed his opposition to the use of a single, high-risk test in the high school entrance examination, he has not made a clear statement about the "gifted class" before.