Centerville City Schools gifted screening and CogAT guide.

Centerville City Schools, south of Dayton, identifies gifted students using Ohio's approved tests and state guidelines. The district's Gifted Services page names two ability tests for its grade 2 and grade 5 screening: the CogAT, the Cognitive Abilities Test, and the NNAT3, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test.

This guide is for Centerville families who want to know what 2nd grade screening involves and how to refer a child outside it.

What Centerville says about gifted screening

Centerville does whole-grade screening for superior cognitive ability in grades 2 and 5, and whole-grade screening in reading and math twice a year through MAP testing in grades 1-8. Gifted services start in the regular classroom with support from Gifted Intervention Specialists, with GIS-taught advanced math classes added in 4th and 5th grade.

Our earlier records listed the NNAT as the 2nd grade test. The district names both tests, but its testing calendar lists the CogAT for 2nd grade, so we treat the CogAT as the confirmed grade 2 screener until the district says otherwise.

Referrals and the one-point rule

A parent, teacher, peer, or the student can refer a child at any time. Download the Gifted Identification Referral Form from the district's Gifted Services page or pick one up at your school's office, then return it to your building principal, who sends it to Central Office. The District Gifted Coach follows up.

Additional testing outside the whole-grade screening is offered when a student is new to the district or referred and has not already been tested on an approved instrument, or when a student scores 1 point away from the identification cutoff on the whole-grade screening. That second rule is worth knowing: a near miss is not the end of the process.

Questions Centerville parents should ask

1. Which test will my 2nd grader take, the CogAT, the NNAT3, or both?
2. When is this year's 2nd grade testing date?
3. What score identifies a student, and what counts as 1 point away?
4. How and when will we receive results?
5. How do I submit a referral, and how long does it take?
6. What gifted services does our building offer in 2nd and 3rd grade?

Our broader questions to ask your school guide can help you turn those into one clear conversation with the District Gifted Coach or your school's Gifted Intervention Specialist.

How to prepare without adding pressure

Keep it short: 10 to 15 minutes a day is plenty for a 2nd grader, starting with simple puzzles and talking through the reasoning. 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. Before test day, work up to at least two full timed practice tests so pacing is not a surprise. Our guide to preparing a young child for a gifted test covers the approach.