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Every year, thousands of preschoolers take a test for the city's gifted and talented program. This year, more of them qualified for the special classes by scoring at least a 90 percent on the exam.

In 2007-2008, 18 percent of the tiny test takers qualified. Last year, it was 22 percent, and this year it was up to 28 percent. That's 3,541 students.

"More students are qualifying I think because the test prep companies are getting rich. Also because I think that parents are increasingly eager to find the best options for their kids -- there's so many charter schools opening, there's so many new programs, new schools opening. I think the days are gone when parents just sent their kids to the school down the street," said Pamela Wheaton of InsideSchools.org.

During the past few years, the Department of Education has required all gifted and talented programs in the city to begin in kindergarten and follow the same admissions criteria. But the standardized process has resulted in even fewer black and Hispanic students qualifying.

"There's still far far fewer kids qualifying from low income neighborhoods than their are form the powerhouse districts of district 2 and district 3 in Manhattan. And I think that that's a big disappointment," Wheaton said.

Most high scorers live in well-to-do districts. For example, in district 2 -- which includes the Upper East Side and Downtown Manhattan -- nearly 1,500 preschoolers took the test and 653 qualified. That's 44 percent -- almost double the citywide average. But in district 7 in the South Bronx, only 85 students took the test and 13 percent qualified. That's only 11 students in the whole district.

All students who qualify are guaranteed a seat in at least one program in their district. Students who score above 97 percent are eligible for a seat in one of the citywide gifted and talented schools, like NEST+M and the Anderson School.

Some parents say they believe getting into a gifted and talented program increased their child's chances of being in smaller class, with better teachers and more motivated classmates. They say that makes a big difference in a school system where the quality of the education varies dramatically from school to school and class to class.