FasTracKids NYC Gifted and Talented Test Prep Registration is Now Open

The FasTracKids NYC Gifted and Talented Test Program is a package of one-on-one or small group tutoring sessions and publications designed to prepare students for the OLSAT® and NNAT®2, given together for entry into Kindergarten-3rd Grade gifted programs in New York City. The program offers superior results every year, extensive scheduling options, and an individualized curriculum based on a diagnostic exam.

The Gifted and Talented program in New York City boasts some of the best public Elementary schools in the country, offering an excellent education without a private school price tag. Sixty percent of students who applied to G&T programs qualified this year. These results are an improvement from 2013 when only fifty-four percent of applicants qualified. However, securing a spot in the G&T program can still be difficult, as the application process is increasingly competitive. Last year 5,450 qualified but only 300 offers were made, according to the Department of Education.

The FasTracKids NYC Gifted and Talented Test Prep Program is a budget-friendly package designed to prepare students for the OLSAT® and NNAT®2. It includes an initial diagnostic, tutoring sessions, a progress test, and our learning materials to continue learning at home. There are extensive scheduling options, including slots available 7 days a week at all four of our Brooklyn locations and at two of our Staten Island Locations (Charleston and Dongon Hills).

The FasTracKids NYC Gifted and Talented Test Prep Program also boasts outstanding results. This year, 93% of our students were deemed eligible for their district program, with almost 50% qualifying for citywide. In addition, the program helps to foster critical thinking skills and an overall love of learning through individualized curriculum and tutoring that is tailored to your child’s needs. Students are evaluated using a diagnostic exam during the first session and a customized curriculum is created.

The NNAT®2 is a nonverbal measure of ability. Since the test does not require knowledge of English, it

provides culturally neutral evaluation of reasoning, mathematics, and problem-solving skills. The NNAT®2 contains questions including pattern completion, reasoning by analogy, serial reasoning, and spatial visualization

The NNAT®2 is paired with the OLSAT®, a school achievement test meant to assess a student’s ability to cope with school learning tasks. Only the verbal section of the OLSAT® is administered, and includes

questions that challenge a student to follow directions, visualize situations, and complete math word problems. The OLSAT® can be taken in a number of languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, and Arabic, allowing flexibility for ESL students.

The NYC Department of Education combines the NNAT®2 and OLSAT® scores to create an overall score on the Gifted and Talented Exam that is used to determine placement into G&T programs. With the change from the BSRA® to the NNAT®2 for the 2013 exam, coupled with the OLSAT® being offered in several languages, verbal ability is no longer required to qualify for a G&T program. Furthermore, there are new weights given to the verbal (OLSAT® ) and nonverbal (NNAT®2 ) components of the exam. Both components are now weighed equally as opposed to last year in which the nonverbal section was two-thirds of the overall score.