Clark County School District (CCSD) GATE program requirements and NNAT® guide.

GATE is Clark County School District’s (CCSD’s) Gifted and Talented Education program. TAGS is its Title I Alternative Gifted Services program. Title I schools are schools that get extra federal money because many of their students come from low-income families.

This guide is for CCSD parents across Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and the rest of Clark County who want to know how 2nd grade screening works, what the district actually publishes, and what GATE gives a child who qualifies.

CCSD GATE program requirements

Here is what the CCSD GATE program asks of students and parents, based on CCSD’s Gifted Education Services page and Nevada’s state gifted rule. Anything CCSD does not publish is marked.

1. Who is screened. Every 2nd grader enrolled full time in CCSD. Screening is universal, so you do not need to sign up.
2. When. CCSD has not published a district-wide screening window. As one example, Nevada Learning Academy, CCSD’s online school, posted 2nd grade GATE screening on January 29 and 30, 2025, taking about 30 minutes. Ask your school for your child’s date.
3. The test. CCSD’s current page does not name it. In 2016 the district told the Nevada Legislature it screened 2nd graders at Title I schools with the NNAT2 (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Second Edition).
4. The qualifying rule. CCSD does not publish its own cutoff. Nevada’s rule (Nevada Administrative Code, or NAC, 388.435) says a team decides, based on a score at or above the 98th percentile on a one-on-one ability test or a one-on-one achievement test, or on an area of talent the district defines. The 98th percentile means scoring as well as or better than 98 out of 100 students in the comparison group. An undated GATE page from a CCSD elementary school, Goolsby Elementary, lists two routes: the 98th percentile on one ability test, or a matrix score of 15 or more from several measures. Ask the Gifted Programs Office whether that matrix is still in use.
5. Referral after 2nd grade. CCSD’s current page does not publish a referral process. The Goolsby page says students in grades 3 to 5 can be tested during the year once the school receives a parent’s signed permission to test, and that a student can be retested one time, at least six months after the first test.
6. What parents need to do. Nothing for 2nd grade screening. If your child is older or missed screening, ask your school’s GATE teacher for the permission-to-test form, or call the Gifted Programs Office at (702) 799-8601.
7. What a qualifying student gets. GATE in grades 3 to 5 with at least 150 minutes of gifted services a week, or TAGS at a Title I school with at least 50 minutes a week. Highly gifted students are identified separately, beginning at age 7.

Sample question

Try an NNAT® practice question

Look across the rows and down the columns. Choose what completes both patterns.

Listen

ABCDE

A real GateBuddy practice question.

Choose one of the five answers.

Choose an answer

Practice preview

Let your child see the format before test day.

GateBuddy introduces the visual reasoning formats used on the NNAT® through short, age-appropriate practice with clear explanations.

• Built around the four NNAT® question types
• An explanation after every answer: what changed and what stayed the same
• Short adaptive sets plus full, timed practice tests
• A live view so parents can follow along

Try free questions

Real GateBuddy practice questions, one of each NNAT® question type.

What GATE gives your child in Clark County School District

CCSD’s Gifted Education Services (GES) division lists these services:

1. GATE in grades 3 to 5. At least 150 minutes of gifted services a week. That matches Nevada’s state rule, which calls for at least 150 minutes a week of differentiated (adjusted, more challenging) activities for gifted students.
2. TAGS at Title I schools. Students identified as eligible for TAGS at a Title I school get at least 50 minutes of gifted services a week.
3. Highly gifted services starting at age 7. CCSD identifies highly gifted students separately and runs workshops for parents and students in the highly gifted program.
4. Support for classroom teachers. GES consults with regular classroom teachers and offers them training on teaching gifted students.

What Clark County School District says about identification

CCSD says its Gifted Education Services division screens every second grader enrolled full time in the district. You do not need to sign up.

What CCSD does not publish on its current page:

1. The test name. In a 2016 presentation to the Nevada Legislature, CCSD said it screened 2nd graders at Title I schools with the NNAT2 (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Second Edition). The district has not said publicly which test it uses now.
2. A cutoff score. Nevada’s state rule (NAC 388.435, part of the Nevada Administrative Code) says a team decides eligibility, based on a score at or above the 98th percentile on an individually administered (one-on-one) ability test or achievement test, or on an area of talent the district defines. The rule also lets the team use other ways of assessing students from another culture, students from low-income families, and students with disabilities.
3. A testing date. CCSD has not published a screening window or a results date.

The NNAT® is a visual reasoning test built around shapes and patterns instead of reading, vocabulary, or arithmetic. If your school uses the current NNAT3 with 2nd graders, that is Level C: 48 questions in about 30 minutes, covering Pattern Completion, Reasoning by Analogy, Serial Reasoning, and Spatial Visualization. For a parent-friendly walkthrough of those four formats, see our guide to the four NNAT® question types.

Why the GATE and TAGS difference matters

Screening is the same for every full-time 2nd grader, whatever school they attend. The difference comes after: GATE promises at least 150 minutes a week, and TAGS at a Title I school promises at least 50 minutes a week.

So if your child qualifies, the useful question is which service applies at your school, how many minutes a week your child will actually get, and what that time looks like.

Questions Clark County parents should ask

1. When is my child’s class scheduled for 2nd grade gifted screening?
2. Which test is our school using this year?
3. What score or other evidence does CCSD use to decide eligibility this year?
4. If my child scores high on the screening, what happens next, and is there a one-on-one test?
5. When and how will we get results?
6. Which service applies at our school, GATE or TAGS, and how many minutes a week will my child get?
7. What are the next chances to be tested if my child does not qualify in 2nd grade?

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 effectively for the NNAT

Because CCSD does not name its screening test, first ask your school which test your child will take. If it is the NNAT, these steps help:

1. Start with the format. Show your child each of the four NNAT question types in short sessions, and talk through the rule after every question. A good explanation names the rule, so your child can use it on the next question. GateBuddy shows an explanation after every question that names the rule, and it can read instructions and explanations out loud, which helps a child who is still building reading skills or simply learns better by hearing it.
2. Practice 10 to 15 minutes a day, for as long as you can. Reasoning skills build like a muscle, a little at a time. A few weeks of practice helps, but months of short, steady sessions build much more.
3. Spend extra time on the weakest type. Most children find one or two question types harder. Focus there once the basics feel familiar. GateBuddy’s practice sets do this for you: each set of five leans toward the question types your child has seen least and adjusts how hard the next questions are based on recent answers. You can also pick one question type and a level (easy, medium, or hard) to work on a weak spot.
4. Take full, timed practice tests: at least two, and more is better. A full test is where your child learns pacing and how to work alone against a clock, the way test day works. Every GateBuddy plan includes eight full, timed NNAT® practice tests, so your child can take several along the way and still save the last two for the final few weeks as a dress rehearsal. While your child works on their own, GateBuddy’s Live View lets you follow along from your own phone: how many questions they have answered, the answer they just picked, and how many they have right so far. Your child gets the independence of test day, and you still see everything.

Our guide to how to prepare for the NNAT® goes deeper on each step.