The Department of Education just released statistics on the current crop of students who applied for gifted and talented programs, citing a whopping 45 percent rise in qualifying students: 3,231 students who will enter kindergarten qualified for G&T programs this year, as opposed to 2,230 last year. A total of 14,822 children sat for the tests, and 22 percent qualified -- another rise compared with last year, when 18 percent of 12,410 children tested qualified for G&T seats. To meet the rising demand, the DOE says it "will open as many as 24 new district gifted programs" and create "as many as 150" new citywide kindergarten seats.On the list of G&T programs offering tours during the next two weeks, there are several schools that have never had a gifted and talented program or have had one in the past but didn't accept a class of kindergarteners in 2008.

The overall numbers of students who qualify for citywide programs and schools, by scoring at or above the 97th percentile, has risen substantially as well: 1,345 students met or passed that high bar this year, compared with 1,026 last year. Where these students will attend school is a pressing question: The Anderson School will add 25 new seats, for a total of 75 kindergarten seats, according to the DOE, and three new citywide programs will offer 150 places. But even 225 new seats, combined with the 210 kindergarten seats the three citywide schools now offer (according to New York State accountability statistics), adds up to about 435 seats. You don't need calculus skills to see that's just under a third of the total of 1,345 qualifying students. It's not known whether DOE projections estimate that two-thirds of those who qualify for citywide G&T will opt for other programs; it seems entirely possible that an awful lot of families might face disappointment. (NB: See Update below for details.)

While the numbers of children who took the test and scored at or above the 90 percentile increased in many districts, persistent trends continued, as higher numbers of District 2 and District 3 students in Manhattan -- 40 and 45 percent, respectively -- scores merited G&T seats, compared with 8 and 13 percent of the students' scores in Districts 7 and 8 in the Bronx. In 31 of the city's 32 districts, the number of students eligible for G&T programs increased, with the numbers of qualified students doubling in some districts that have had historically low participation.

Click here to see the DOE's Excel spreadsheet, for district-by-district minutiae. (Or try this pdf version.)

Uptdate, 5pm: Andy Jacob of the DOE wrote to correct an error in the DOE's release of information. In fact, Anderson will add only 25 new seats, for a total of 75 kindergarten seats next year -- and those 25 seats are part of the 150 new seats the DOE plans for citywide G&T programs.

The adjustment makes the admissions math even less hospitable: According to the revised numbers (110 current seats plus 150 new seats), there will be approximately 260 citywide G&T kindergarten seats for more than 1300 eligible students. Basic percentages: The DOE will offer sufficient seats for 20 percent of the total number of eligible students.

Update, 6pm: The Anderson School will reportedly add an additional 25 seats to its first grade program, for a total of 75 seats on the grade.

Update, May 5th: Thanks to Robin Aronow, PhD, for correcting my math: The three citywide schools currently offer 210 seats; the DOE plans to add up to 150 new G&T citywide seats, including the 25 new kindergarten seats at Anderson, for a maximum total of 360 available seats -- which tallies roughly to 30 percent of the total number of children who qualified.