Rita Warner doesn't know what to make of her son's fall from grace.

Two years ago he was "gifted", according to an entrance exam for Capitol Hill, St. Paul's prestigious gifted-talented magnet school. But this year a new test found he's not gifted. Meanwhile, he's still on a waiting list for Capitol Hill.

Warner jokes that either her son has lost some brain cells or the new test has some problems. She's one of many St. Paul parents who have received letters this month from the school district about how their children fared on the ambitious new test, called the modified Charlotte/ Discover model.

Schools across the state long have debated how best to identify gifted students. Some educators think standardized tests are the most reliable way. Others argue that paper-pencil tests don't catch all the gifted students.

Some say students with English-language difficulties are particularly at risk of being left out with typical exams.

The St. Paul and Minneapolis school districts have adopted testing methods using outside observations to help find gifted students.

While Minneapolis still considers test scores and other factors, St. Paul is relying almost exclusively on the modified Charlotte/ Discover model to determine who's eligible for gifted services. Using a $218,000 state grant, the district tested all kindergartners and second-graders.

So far, about 545 of the nearly 3,400 students assessed have turned out to be gifted—16 percent. The gifted population mirrors the district's student population in terms of racial breakdown, a fact that has evoked both celebration from officials and suspicion from critics who charge that the district manipulated the process to get the results it wanted.

Warner questioned whether school officials' desire to diversify the talent pool led them to design a test that would do just that.

"I had concerns that this new Charlotte/ Discover model, in its eagerness to identify children that would otherwise be overlooked, might overlook children who would do well on the written test," she said.