NYC has used tests, some at 5 years old, to determine who is admitted to the city's public accelerated schools. 5 years old seems a bit young to me for that, but the general idea was the same that drove the creation of the SAT: to prevent discrimination other than about intellectual potential.
In NYC, Gifted and Talented enrollment is 43 percent Asian, 36 percent white, 8 percent Hispanic, and 6 percent black.
NYC has many desirable private, parochial, and charter schools too, but, of the latter, only the private schools tend to have entry standards.
Related, Kids will pay a steep price for this War on Merit in schools
I was a bright kid without any particular talents, no genius and not entirely dedicated to school. I grew up in an entirely non-diverse neighborhood and town. Lily-white. Every boy wanted to be an Eagle Scout.
The notion of racial disparity did not exist, but there were clear distinctions between the smart kids and the slow kids, the athletically talented kids and the not, etc. I doubt I would have been admitted to a public NYC accelerated school, but I was forced to learn discipline when I went to a private high school with high demands and expectations.
I think what is going on in NY is about skin tone and ethnicity.
