To get into a gifted and talented elementary school program in New York City, children must ace a single, high-stakes exam — when they are 4 years old. This admissions process is now a flash point in an escalating debate over how to desegregate the largest school district in the United States. Although New York’s school district has mostly black and Hispanic students, the city’s gifted classes are made up of about three-quarters white and Asian students. Experts say the single-exam admissions process for such young children is an extremely unusual practice that may be the only one of its kind nationwide

Source: The New York Times