San Bernardino City Unified GATE testing and NNAT® guide.

GATE is San Bernardino City Unified's Gifted and Talented Education program. 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 SBCUSD parents who want to understand how the fall testing process works, what parent permission means in practice, and how to help a 3rd grader prepare calmly before the school-site testing window arrives.

What San Bernardino City Unified says about GATE testing

The district says all 3rd graders with parent permission participate in GATE testing at their school site in the fall of each school year. That single sentence carries two practical points: testing happens by grade level rather than by referral, and a signed permission form is what actually gets a child into the testing group, so a missed form can mean a missed test date.

The district also allows students who missed the school-site testing, or who are in a grade above 3rd, to be tested by parent request. In that case, testing happens at the district GATE office rather than the school, and families need to call ahead for a date and time.

SBCUSD's own page does not publish an exact qualifying score or state which specific NNAT edition is currently in use district-wide. Families should confirm both details with the school's GATE coordinator or the district's Educational Services Division.

If your child's test is the NNAT3, a 3rd grader is administered Level D, the level used for grades 3 and 4. Level D covers the same four question families as the earlier Level C, but with more answer choices and finer visual distinctions between them. For the differences between the two levels, see our guide to NNAT® Level C vs Level D.

Why the permission form is the part families miss

In many districts, gifted screening happens automatically and a permission form is just paperwork. In San Bernardino City Unified, the form is the gate itself: a 3rd grader whose family has not returned it does not sit for the fall school-site test. That makes the permission slip functionally more urgent than the test date.

The practical fix is simple: ask the school office directly whether the GATE permission form has gone home yet, rather than waiting for it to surface in a backpack. If it has already passed and your child missed the window, the district-office retest-by-request option is the path back in.

Questions San Bernardino parents should ask

1. Has the GATE permission form for 3rd grade gone home yet, and is it due back by a specific date?
2. What exact date is our school administering the test?
3. If my child misses the school-site date, how do we schedule a make-up test at the district GATE office?
4. What score or criteria does SBCUSD currently use to identify a student as GATE?
5. If my child qualifies, what GATE services are available at our school?
6. Can an older sibling who was never tested in 3rd grade still be tested by request?

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 3rd 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.

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.