ELITIST GIFTED PROGRAMS The Seattle government school system received an outside review of its gifted education program. The results ... the district should "aggressively diversify its program" because it is "elitist." Why is it considered elitist? Because three-quarters of the students enrolled in the gifted program are white. District wide, whites only make up 40% of the student population. This would mean that in an egalitarian world only 40 percent of the gifted students would be white. If the number is higher .. than there's a big problem. Students are admitted into the program after testing in the 98th or...