Austin ISD Gifted and Talented testing and NNAT® guide.

Austin ISD calls its program Gifted and Talented, or GT, and also identifies students for a second tier called Talent Explore. The NNAT® is the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, a visual reasoning test that uses shapes and patterns instead of reading or math.

This guide is mainly for families of kindergarten and 1st grade students, because those are the grades where Austin ISD uses the NNAT3. From 2nd grade up, the district uses the CogAT instead.

What Austin ISD says about GT testing

Every Austin ISD campus offers GT testing in grades K-12, but testing starts with a referral. The district's handbook says a parent, caregiver, relative, community member, teacher, counselor, or administrator can refer any student. When a referral is submitted, the parent or caregiver is asked to fill out a Parent/Caregiver GT Observation Form.

There is no universal screener in kindergarten or 1st grade. The universal screener is in 2nd grade only: a nonverbal ability test given to all 2nd graders September 22 to October 7, 2026, with scores compared within each campus. The district does not name that screener test on its public pages. 2nd graders who move forward are then tested with the CogAT.

How the decision is made

Texas requires at least three measures, including at least one test and at least one observation or work sample. In Austin ISD, a Campus GT Committee of 3, 5, or 7 trained educators reviews the ability test, teacher observations, the parent observation form, and optional data such as MAP scores or work samples. The district does not publish a cutoff score.

The handbook does name one situation worth knowing: if your child scored in the 9th stanine (96th percentile or higher) on the ability test but did not qualify for GT or Talent Explore, you can raise that with the Campus GT Advocate. Students who are not identified in every area may retest every year.

Why the referral matters for young children

Because kindergarten and 1st grade have no universal screener, a young child is only tested if someone refers them before October 16. If you think your child may need GT services, you can submit the referral yourself. The district also says campuses share sample problems with students before testing so the question types are familiar.

Questions Austin ISD parents should ask

1. Who is our Campus GT Advocate, and has our referral been received?
2. When in the October 26 to November 20 window will my child test?
3. How much weight do the parent and teacher observation forms carry?
4. Which beginning-of-year MAP scores will the committee look at?
5. If my child is not identified this year, can we refer again next fall?
6. How can I get a copy of my child's score report?

Our broader questions to ask your school guide can help you turn those into one clear conversation with the Campus GT Advocate.

How to prepare without adding pressure

For a 5 or 6 year old, keep it short and playful: 10 to 15 minutes a day is plenty. Younger NNAT® levels mostly use pattern completion and reasoning by analogy, and serial reasoning is added around 1st grade, as our NNAT® question types guide explains. Talk through the reasoning after each question. Before test day, do at least two full timed practice tests so the pace is not a surprise. Practice teaches your child what the questions look like and gives them ways to approach and think through them, so test day feels familiar instead of surprising. Our guide to how to prepare for the NNAT® has more.