Federal Way Public Schools Highly Capable screening and NNAT® guide.

Highly Capable is Washington’s term for gifted education services. NNAT® stands for Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, a visual reasoning assessment built around shapes, patterns, and spatial relationships.

For a fuller overview of the assessment itself, see our guide to what the NNAT® measures.

What Federal Way says about screening

Federal Way says it reviews data for every 2nd and 4th grader each year. Since the 2025-2026 school year, it gives the NNAT3 to all enrolled 2nd and 4th graders and to students referred during the annual referral window (with permission to test). Testing happens at the child’s home school.

Students in other grades (kindergarten through 11th) need a referral. Parents, teachers, staff, community members, or the student can use the district’s online referral form, which is offered in 12 languages.

Sample question

Try an NNAT® practice question

Use the completed example to picture how the shapes outside the frame fold inward.

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.

How Federal Way decides who is identified

A district-level multidisciplinary team reviews a “mosaic of data” for each student. The district says no single score ends the review. The data includes:

1. The NNAT3 cognitive test.
2. i-Ready reading and math results.
3. The state SBA (Smarter Balanced Assessment) in English Language Arts and math, when available.
4. WIDA English language proficiency results for multilingual learners, and other district and state tests.

Federal Way does not publish a qualifying score or percentile cutoff. Outside testing is not accepted in appeals. The 2026-2027 timeline shows:

1. February 1 to 5, 2027: the district gathers each student’s latest test data.
2. February 8 to 12, 2027: the team makes identification decisions.
3. February 22 to March 5, 2027: the appeal window. An appeal must explain why and include specific new information.
4. March 8 to 11, 2027: the team reviews appeals and tells families.

For a parent-friendly overview of the visual reasoning format, see our guide to the four NNAT® question types.

What Highly Capable gives your child in Federal Way

1. A cluster classroom: when possible, identified students are placed together in a regular grade-level classroom so they learn with both grade-level and like-ability classmates.
2. Differentiated work: enrichment and extensions, small-group teaching, project-based learning, individual computer activities, curriculum changes, and independent study.
3. A Scholar Learning Plan: each year the teacher writes a plan with an academic goal, reviewed with the family at fall and spring conferences, with a final copy at year end.
4. Middle and high school: services focus on monitoring course loads for rigor and progress toward the High School and Beyond Plan, with options such as 9th grade Algebra in 8th grade, International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years and Cambridge courses at some schools, and Advanced Placement (AP), IB, Cambridge, and Running Start in high school.

Elementary schools in Federal Way Public Schools

In most districts, a gifted-screening window applies across the district, while each school handles practical details inside that window.

Federal Way elementary schools include:

• Adelaide Elementary
• Brigadoon Elementary
• Camelot Elementary
• Enterprise Elementary
• Green Gables Elementary
• Lake Dolloff Elementary
• Lake Grove Elementary
• Lakeland Elementary
• Mark Twain Elementary
• Meredith Hill Elementary
• Mirror Lake Elementary
• Panther Lake Elementary
• Rainier View Elementary
• Sherwood Forest Elementary
• Silver Lake Elementary
• Star Lake Elementary
• Sunnycrest Elementary
• Twin Lakes Elementary
• Valhalla Elementary
• Wildwood Elementary

Federal Way also lists Nautilus K-8, Olympic View K-8, and Woodmont K-8 among its K-8 schools.

Questions Federal Way parents should ask

1. What date is my child’s class taking the NNAT3 between November 23 and December 18?
2. What permission or referral step, if any, does our family need to complete this year?
3. When and how will our family get the identification decision?
4. If my child qualifies, what will their Scholar Learning Plan include this year?
5. What options will my child have in later grades, such as middle school math pathways?
6. If my child does not qualify, what new information would count in an appeal?

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

Federal Way has not published advice about test preparation. The NNAT3 uses picture puzzles that look different from schoolwork, so the goal is comfort with the format, not cramming:

1. Learn the format first. Go through the four NNAT® question types and, after each practice question, explain the rule: what changed and what stayed the same. 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 question type your child finds hardest. 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. Practice on a screen, since Federal Way gives the NNAT3 on a computer.
5. 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.