Chino Valley Unified School District GATE testing and NNAT® guide.

GATE is the district’s Gifted and Talented Education program, and the NNAT® is the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, a visual reasoning assessment that uses shapes and patterns instead of reading passages, vocabulary, or math computation.

This guide is written for parents in Chino, Chino Hills, and the broader Chino Valley Unified community who want a practical view of what to confirm, what the test asks, and how to help a child prepare calmly before the testing window arrives.

What Chino Valley Unified says about GATE identification

Which test a district uses for gifted screening isn’t universal; it varies district by district. The three most commonly used are the NNAT, CogAT, and OLSAT. Chino Valley Unified confirmed it currently uses the NNAT3, describing it as a cognitive ability measure reviewed alongside other evidence.

One score does not always tell the whole story. The school district controls eligibility, notification timing, retesting, appeals, and services, so families should ask how the NNAT3 result is weighed alongside other evidence.

For the current 2nd grade window, families should expect the NNAT3 to be taken on a computer device. Results are estimated to come in November. If a student does not qualify in 2nd grade, retakes are typically offered in 4th grade using NNAT Level D, a more difficult version of the same assessment family.

What 2nd grade students should expect from the NNAT®

The NNAT® is different from normal classroom work. A child is not asked to read a story, solve arithmetic, or remember vocabulary. Instead, each question asks the child to find a visual rule using color, shape, direction, position, rotation, symmetry, or folding.

At Level C, which corresponds to 2nd grade in the NNAT® level structure, students can encounter all four major NNAT® formats: Pattern Completion, Reasoning by Analogy, Serial Reasoning, and Spatial Visualization. If those words sound technical, the parent version is simpler: children need to spot what changes, what stays the same, and which answer follows the same visual logic.

For a parent-friendly overview of the formats, start with our guide to the four NNAT® question types.

Why the early timing catches families off guard

Late September to October is early in the school year. Many second graders are still settling into classroom routines, homework expectations, and fall activities when the window opens. A family that waits for the testing notice to come home before thinking about the format may not have much runway left to build familiarity with it.

The goal is not to cram. It is to make the test feel less foreign. A few short, focused sessions can help a child recognize the layout, learn how to compare answer choices, and understand that these are visual puzzles with findable rules, not a pop quiz on something they were never taught.

Elementary schools in Chino Valley Unified

In most districts, a gifted-screening window applies across the district, while each school handles the practical details inside that window. For Chino Valley Unified families, that means the late September to October window is the planning window, and your child’s campus is the place to confirm the exact day, make-up instructions, and reminders sent through school newsletters, classroom messages, or the front office.

Chino Valley Unified elementary schools include:

• Alicia Cortez Elementary
• Anna A. Borba Elementary
• Butterfield Ranch Elementary
• Chaparral Elementary
• Country Springs Elementary
• Doris Dickson Elementary
• E.J. Marshall Elementary
• Eagle Canyon Elementary
• Edwin Rhodes Elementary
• Gerald F. Litel Elementary
• Glenmeade Elementary
• Hidden Trails Elementary
• Howard Cattle Elementary
• Levi H. Dickey Elementary
• Liberty Elementary
• Michael G. Wickman Elementary
• Newman Elementary
• Oak Ridge Elementary
• Rolling Ridge Elementary
• Walnut Avenue Elementary

If your school sends a testing notice, save it. It may include the exact date, make-up testing details, whether anything needs to be returned, and who to contact if your child is absent.

Questions Chino Valley parents should ask

1. Is my 2nd grade student automatically included in GATE screening, or is any parent action required?
2. What exact date is our school administering the assessment?
3. If my child qualifies for GATE, what additional educational opportunities will be offered in their current grade level and beyond, inside the classroom or outside it?
4. Are results still expected in November?
5. How does Chino Valley Unified use the NNAT3 result alongside other evidence?
6. If a child does not qualify this year, is the next retake opportunity still 4th grade with NNAT Level D?

Our broader questions to ask your school guide can help you turn those into one clear conversation with the office or program contact.

How to prepare without adding pressure

The best preparation for a second grader is short, consistent, and calm. Start with format familiarity: show the child the kinds of visual tasks they might see, then talk through the thinking after each question. A useful explanation should name the rule, not just reveal the answer.

For example, a good explanation might say, “the shape rotated one quarter turn,” or “the pattern continues behind the missing window,” or “the outside pieces fold inward across the frame.” That kind of language helps a child build transferable reasoning instead of memorizing one picture.

If your child has not seen the NNAT® before, start with a short session rather than a full-length test. Then add complete timed practice only after the format feels familiar. Our guide to how to prepare for the NNAT® gives a simple structure for that progression.

Where practice fits

Practice helps most when it makes the format familiar before test day. A child who has already seen screen-based visual reasoning questions can spend more energy solving the puzzle itself, instead of trying to figure out what the page is asking.

For Chino Valley families with a 2nd grade student, the early timing makes a short first look especially useful. Five questions is usually enough to tell whether the format already feels familiar or still feels new.