Corona-Norco Unified School District GATE testing and NNAT® guide.

GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education. NNAT® stands for Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, and CNUSD uses the third edition, the NNAT3. It is a visual reasoning assessment that uses shapes and patterns instead of reading passages, vocabulary, or math computation.

What Corona-Norco says about GATE identification

CNUSD gives a GATE assessment every year to identify students for the GATE program the following school year. The district says the selection process looks at multiple data points, including NNAT3 results. It does not publish a qualifying score.

The district describes two ways in:

1. 2nd grade: automatic. All 2nd graders are assessed unless a family fills out the opt-out form. Last year the opt-out deadline was the last Friday school day in October.
2. Grades 3 to 5: referral. Families can register a student for testing by the last Friday in October. The district suggests talking with the classroom teacher first. Students already identified as GATE do not need to retest.

The district says testing is done online on the child’s district-issued device, at school, under teacher supervision. Specific dates are set by each school inside the district window.

Sample question

Try an NNAT® practice question

Choose the piece that continues every line and color across the empty window.

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 Corona-Norco Unified

The district’s GATE page describes the program this way:

1. Services in grades 3 to 6. Formal GATE services start in 3rd grade, the school year after 2nd grade testing.
2. Two program choices. Qualified students can join a GATE magnet classroom at one of four district elementary schools, or get GATE services in their home school classroom. The district names Barton Elementary, Garretson Elementary, and Norco Elementary among the magnet sites.
3. A preference form, and at some sites a lottery. Families of qualified students get a link to pick an option. At Norco Elementary, a GATE parent information night describes a GATE preference form that goes to the district GATE office by a set date, followed by a school lottery for places. Siblings can transfer in. The district does not publish that deadline, or say whether every magnet site runs a lottery, so ask the district GATE office at 951-736-5148 for your school’s dates.
4. A possible school or track change. Depending on the choice, a child may need to change tracks or schools.
5. A designation that stays on record. The GATE label stays on your child’s record through middle and high school.

What 2nd graders should expect from the NNAT®

The NNAT® does not look like regular schoolwork. It asks children to use visual logic: pattern completion, visual analogies, serial reasoning, and spatial visualization. The child needs to spot what changes, what stays the same, and which answer follows the same rule.

Corona-Norco says testing is done online using the child’s district-issued device at school under teacher supervision. That makes screen familiarity useful. A child who understands the layout can focus more on solving the puzzle and less on figuring out the page.

Elementary schools in Corona-Norco Unified

In most districts, a gifted-screening window applies across the district, while each school handles practical details inside that window. For Corona-Norco families, the district window (November to early December last year) is the planning window, and your child’s campus is the place to confirm the exact day, make-up instructions, and reminders.

Corona-Norco Unified elementary schools include:

• Academy of Innovation
• Ben Franklin Elementary
• Clara Barton Elementary
• Corona Ranch Elementary
• Coronita Elementary
• Dr. Bernice Todd Elementary
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary
• Eastvale Elementary
• Foothill Elementary
• Garretson Elementary
• George Washington Elementary
• Harada Elementary
• Highland Elementary
• Jefferson Elementary
• John Adams Elementary
• John Stallings Elementary
• Lincoln Fundamental Elementary
• Louis VanderMolen Fundamental Elementary
• Norco Elementary
• Orange Elementary
• Parkridge Elementary
• Philistine Rondo School of Discovery
• Prado View Elementary
• Riverview Elementary
• Ronald Reagan Elementary
• Rosa Parks Elementary
• Sierra Vista Elementary
• Susan B. Anthony Elementary
• Temescal Valley Elementary
• Vicentia Elementary
• William McKinley Elementary
• Woodrow Wilson Elementary

The district also lists Cesar Chavez Academy and Home Gardens Academy as K-8 academies.

Questions Corona-Norco parents should ask

1. What date is our school giving the 2nd grade GATE assessment this year, and what is the make-up date?
2. When is this year’s opt-out deadline, and when is the grades 3 to 5 registration deadline?
3. What data points besides the NNAT3 does the district review, and what scores are needed?
4. When will results be sent to families this year?
5. Which four schools have GATE magnet classrooms, and what would change for my child if we chose one?
6. What date is the GATE preference form due, and does our magnet site fill places by lottery?
7. What GATE services does our home school offer in grades 3 to 6?

How to prepare effectively for the NNAT

Short, steady practice works better than cramming. 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. A simple plan:

1. Learn the format with explanations. Start with the four NNAT® question types. After each question, talk through the rule: what changed, what stayed the same, and why the right answer fits. For example, “the shape turned a quarter turn” or “the pattern keeps going behind the missing window.” 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 question type. Notice which type your child misses most and give it a little more practice. 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.