Ask how your school approaches Gifted and Talented.

About the assessment

1. Which NNAT® version and level will students take? — confirms whether preparation should cover Level C or a different level entirely.
2. Is it a universal screener or given only after referral? — universal screening reaches every student automatically; referral-based screening depends on a teacher or parent flagging a child first.
3. Is administration online or on paper? — the two formats feel different to a child, so it's worth knowing which one to expect.
4. What accommodations or make-up procedures are available? — worth asking even if nothing seems needed now, since policies are easier to learn about before test day than during it.

About identification

1. Is the NNAT® used alone, as an initial screen, or as one part of multiple criteria? — this single answer shapes how much weight one score report actually carries.
2. Which other measures are considered? — achievement scores, teacher recommendations, and work samples all mean a low NNAT® score isn't necessarily the end of the conversation.
3. Are thresholds national, local, age-based, grade-based, or program-specific? — a percentile that qualifies in one district may not in another, so a "good score" only means something in context.
4. How does the district review students who are multilingual, have disabilities, or may be underrepresented? — districts vary widely here, and it's a fair question to ask directly rather than assume.

About results and next steps

1. When and how will families receive the score report? — timelines range from weeks to months depending on the district's testing calendar.
2. Who can explain the report? — a gifted-program coordinator or school psychologist can usually walk through what the numbers mean for your specific district.
3. Is there an appeal, portfolio review, alternative assessment, or retesting process? — not every district offers all four, and knowing which exist avoids a dead end if a first result is disappointing.
4. If a student qualifies, what services actually follow? — "qualifying" can mean anything from a pull-out program to a full classroom placement, and the difference matters.
5. If a student does not qualify, when is the next opportunity for review? — many districts allow reconsideration in a later grade, which is worth knowing up front.

Why multiple measures matter

The U.S. Department of Education's Javits program supports research and strategies for identifying and serving gifted students, with emphasis on students traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs. Research summaries on identification also caution against treating one cut score as the complete picture.

A single test score, taken on a single morning, can be affected by a child's sleep, mood, unfamiliarity with the format, or simple bad luck on a handful of ambiguous items — none of which reflect the reasoning ability the test is meant to measure. That's a large part of why the National Association for Gifted Children recommends multiple measures (achievement scores, teacher recommendations, work samples) alongside a test like the NNAT® as best practice, rather than relying on one score alone. It's also why a single low score on one day is rarely the full picture of a child's ability.

This matters most for the students professional guidance on gifted identification specifically calls out as at risk of being missed by a single-score model: English language learners, twice-exceptional students, and children from backgrounds underrepresented in gifted programs nationally. A nonverbal test like the NNAT® can surface reasoning ability in students whose verbal scores might understate it — but only if the district's process is set up to weigh that result appropriately rather than discard it against a rigid cutoff. Asking how your district's process handles this isn't a technical question; it's a fair thing for any parent to ask directly.

None of these questions require special access — a school office, front-desk staff, or a gifted-program coordinator can typically answer most of them, and a district's published gifted-program handbook (where one exists) often covers several at once. Bringing a written list, rather than trying to remember every question mid-conversation, tends to get more complete answers in a single call.