but I taught GATE (gifted and talented) and I know what the tests in CA look like since we had to take them as part of our GATE training. It is basically an IQ test and has no words/language, only a series of patterns and was 100% visual. Only the 3rd and 5th Graders were tested. I don't see how NY can say that the tests aren't appropriate for all students. A 3rd Grade teacher told me that she was monitoring the 3rd Graders as the whole grade was tested at the same time and she told me that the student who got the highest score was not Black, White, Latino or Asian. He was from India and he was the last one to complete the test. He studied the patterns by turning the paper all over and studying it from different perspectives in order to complete the next pattern.
Gifted students have special needs. Some also have other special needs such as ADD/ADHD along with high or low academic scores.
Our school's GATE classes were for both students who performed well on the GATE test as well as students who had performed well in class work and on classroom tests but did not do well on the GATE test. Some students have testing anxiety and that is taken into consideration.
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