For families in California

GATE testing in California, district by district

California has no single GATE test. Each school district decides how it finds gifted students, which test it uses and in which grade. Many large districts screen a whole grade, often in Grade 1, 2 or 3, with a reasoning test such as the CogAT, the OLSAT or the NNAT, and look at other evidence too.

Find your district The tests

How it works

From screening to GATE

  1. 1

    Screening

    A district tests a whole grade, or children a teacher or parent refers. Most use a group reasoning test given at school, in class time.

  2. 2

    A closer look

    A high score is usually one piece of evidence. Districts add class work, state test results, teacher rating scales or a second test, and some retest a child who came close.

  3. 3

    Identification

    A district team decides who is identified as GATE and tells the family. What GATE then offers, from a cluster class to a separate program, is the district's own choice too.

By district

Which test your district uses

  • Los Angeles UnifiedOLSAT-8Every Grade 2 studentWhen: SpringOLSAT Grade 2
  • San Diego UnifiedCogAT ScreenerEvery Grade 2 student, and new students in Grades 3 to 5When: Late winterCogAT Screener CogAT Grade 2
  • Long Beach UnifiedCogAT, with other measuresGrades 2 and 4When: The district's screening windowCogAT Grade 2 CogAT Grade 4
  • Fresno UnifiedCogAT Screener in Grade 1; the full CogAT for selected students in Grades 2 to 5Grade 1, then selected studentsWhen: Early fall in Grade 1CogAT Screener CogAT Grade 1
  • Sacramento City UnifiedCogAT Form 7Every Grade 1 and Grade 3 student; Grades 4 to 6 on requestWhen: WinterCogAT Grade 1 CogAT Grade 3
  • Elk Grove UnifiedNNATEvery Grade 3 studentWhen: Set each fallNNAT Grade 3
  • Corona-Norco UnifiedNNAT3Every Grade 2 student; Grades 3 to 5 by referralWhen: Late fallNNAT Grade 2
  • Capistrano UnifiedNNATEvery Grade 3 student, and new students in Grades 4 and 5When: Late winterNNAT Grade 3
  • Irvine UnifiedNNAT in Grade 3, with state test results, a reading test and a writing sampleEvery Grade 3 studentWhen: During the school yearNNAT Grade 3
  • Riverside UnifiedA nonverbal ability test (the district does not name it)Every Grade 2 student; Grades 3 to 5 by referralWhen: SpringTest not named

From each district’s own pages. Districts can change the test, the grade or the timing, so check with your school’s GATE coordinator.

The tests

What each screening test asks

  • CogATFull test or the shorter Screener

    Verbal, quantitative and nonverbal reasoning in three batteries. The Screener is one short part of each battery, given when a district tests a whole grade. Up to Grade 2 every question is pictures and is read aloud.

    CogAT practice
  • OLSAT-8Verbal and nonverbal reasoning

    Two parts, verbal and nonverbal, with questions read aloud to the youngest children. A district may use it alone or beside other evidence.

    OLSAT practice
  • NNATShapes and patterns only

    Reasoning with shapes and colors, with no words and no numbers, so a child's reading or English does not get in the way. Some districts use it so that children still learning English can show their reasoning.

    NNAT practice

Before you start

Should my child practice?

The districts in the table do not ask families to prepare: the tests are given at school, in class time. If your district asks you not to practice, follow your district.

Our papers are written by us, not taken from any of these tests. Families use them to see what kind of thinking the tests ask for, and so the format is not a surprise.

Questions

What parents ask

Which test will my child take?
Ask your school's GATE coordinator: each district chooses its own test, grade and window, and can change them. The table on this page shows what large districts publish.
My child missed the screening grade. Can they still be tested?
Usually, yes. Many districts test children who are new to the district, and several take referrals from a teacher or parent in the grades after the screening year. Your school can tell you how.
Is the test the only thing that counts?
Rarely. Most districts also look at class work, state test results, teacher ratings or a writing sample, and some retest a child who came close. Ask your district how it weighs each one.
Why do some districts use a nonverbal test?
A test of shapes and patterns, such as the NNAT, does not depend on reading or on English. Districts use it so that children who are still learning English, or still learning to read, can show their reasoning.
Does any California district use the NGAT?
None of the districts in our table names it. The NGAT is used by gifted programs elsewhere, and our NGAT practice is on its own page if your school does use it.
Is it free?
A free account includes 3 practice tests. A pack opens unlimited tests and shows which questions were right, the right answers and a worked solution for each.

CogAT is published by Riverside Insights, and OLSAT and NNAT by Pearson. None of them, and no school district named on this page, is affiliated with or endorses Scholar Tests. Our practice questions are written by us, not taken from any of these tests.