Upland Unified School District GATE testing and NNAT® guide.

GATE is Upland Unified School District'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 Upland Unified School District (UUSD) parents who want a practical view of when testing happens, what the district says about its identification approach, and how to help a 3rd grader prepare calmly before February arrives.

What Upland Unified says about GATE identification

The district states that the GATE identification process now includes the NNAT3, and that students are eligible to take it in February of their 3rd grade year. Upland describes its identification process as multi-faceted, aimed at ensuring qualified students are identified regardless of language, ethnicity, or background. The district does not say what the other measures are.

Upland's public page does not list a qualifying percentile or score, results timing, or retest rules. Families should ask their school, or call the district office at (909) 985-1864, for current-year details.

At 3rd grade, the NNAT3 uses Level D, the level used for grades 3 and 4. It carries the same four question families as the earlier Level C but with more answer choices and finer visual distinctions between them. Our guide to NNAT® Level C vs Level D explains what actually changes.

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.

Why "multi-faceted" is worth asking about directly

When a district describes its process as multi-faceted rather than publishing a single test score cutoff, other information may count alongside the NNAT3 result. Upland does not spell out what that other information is, so it is worth asking.

The useful move for a parent is not to guess at the missing details, but to ask the school directly what else, besides the NNAT3 score, factors into GATE identification this year.

What GATE gives your child in Upland Unified

Upland describes what its GATE program asks of students:

1. Analyzing, applying, and combining information.
2. Coming up with workable solutions to real problems.
3. Exploring problems that do not have one right answer and producing several strong answers.
4. Debating both sides of an issue.

The district does not publish how GATE is delivered (for example, cluster classes or pull-out groups), which grades are served, or whether identification carries into middle school. Ask your school what GATE looks like there.

Questions Upland parents should ask

1. What date in February will my 3rd grader take the NNAT3?
2. Beyond the NNAT3 score, what other criteria does Upland use in its multi-faceted identification process?
3. What NNAT3 score or percentile is the district currently using as a benchmark?
4. When will families be notified of results, and how?
5. If my child does not qualify this year, when is the next chance to be considered?
6. What does GATE look like at our school, and in which grades is it offered?

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

Upland's GATE page does not give prep guidance. 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. Here is how to prepare effectively:

1. Learn the format first. Go through each of the four NNAT® question types, and after every question talk about the rule: what changed and what stayed the same, not just which answer is right. 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, most days, starting months before February if you can.
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. 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® gives a simple structure for that progression.