Washoe County GATE screening and NNAT® guide.

GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education. The NNAT® (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test) is a reasoning test built around shapes and visual patterns, so a child does not need to read or do math to take it. Washoe County School District (WCSD) uses the third edition, called the NNAT3.

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

What GATE gives your child in Washoe County School District

WCSD says GATE services officially begin in 3rd grade, even for children identified in 2nd grade. Services start only after the family returns a one-time opt-in form. Here is what identification can lead to:

1. Weekly pull-out time at your own school (grades 3 to 5). In the Itinerant Pull-Out model, students work in a small group with a GATE-endorsed teacher for about 150 minutes a week, usually on a semester-long project built around problem solving and creative thinking.
2. A cluster classroom at a few schools. At GEMS (Gifted Education Model for Schools) sites, GATE students are grouped in the same class with a GATE-endorsed teacher instead of being pulled out. WCSD lists Incline and Drake elementary schools and Billinghurst, Depoali, and Marce Herz middle schools.
3. SWAS for some students (grades 3 to 5). SWAS (School Within A School) is a full-day, self-contained gifted class for highly and profoundly gifted students at Caughlin Ranch, Drake, and Hunsberger elementary schools, with busing from your zoned school. Students identified in 2nd or 3rd grade are reviewed for it automatically, and invitations start going out in late October.
4. Middle school options (grades 6 to 8). A GATE teacher co-teaches inside regular classes (the Itinerant Collaborative model), or students can apply to the full-time Magnet program at Clayton, Marce Herz, Sky Ranch, or Swope middle schools. Magnet admission uses cognitive, reading, and math scores.
5. The GATE Institute at Hug High School (grades 10 to 12). WCSD says this program is sunsetting in 2029.

In Washoe, identification keeps mattering after elementary school. The Magnet program requires GATE identification (the only exception is the Magnet-AAP (Accelerated Advanced Placement) track at Clayton, which invites some high-achieving students who are not identified).

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.

How Washoe identifies gifted students

WCSD gives children three ways to be tested:

1. Universal screening in 2nd and 5th grade. Every WCSD 2nd and 5th grader takes the NNAT3 at school. You do not need to sign up.
2. A school referral in any grade after 1st. Referrals go through the school counselor and the school’s MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) team, with a student nomination, teacher checklist, and parent authorization. Referred students are tested in the spring window.
3. Outside testing by a licensed psychologist. WCSD also considers individual IQ tests such as the WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition). The district may give its own follow-up test at no cost.

Once a child is tested, WCSD sorts results into three groups:

1. 98th percentile or higher on an approved cognitive ability test: automatically eligible for GATE.
2. 95th to 97th percentile: scored on a state-approved eligibility matrix that awards points for cognitive, achievement, and other factors.
3. 99th percentile or higher on an individual test given by a licensed clinical psychologist: reviewed for a possible Highly Gifted and Talented designation.

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

Retesting and appeals in Washoe

Every child is screened automatically twice in elementary school (2nd and 5th grade). A child can be tested one more time, through a school referral or a parent appeal, for a maximum of three tests in their WCSD career. WCSD will not retest a child on the same test within 12 months of the last one, and it will not use repeat outside IQ tests taken within 12 months either.

To appeal an eligibility decision, a parent must send WCSD’s written GATE Eligibility Appeal Form within 30 calendar days of the eligibility notice. Appeals must point to a problem with the testing conditions (such as a fire drill or technical issue) or with the student (such as illness or test anxiety). Results from outside psychological testing can be sent at any time.

Elementary schools in Washoe County School District

Washoe sets one districtwide screening window. Each school schedules its own classes inside that window, so your school is the place to ask for your child’s exact day.

Washoe elementary schools include:

• Allen Elementary
• Alice Smith Elementary
• Anderson Elementary
• Beasley Elementary
• Beck Elementary
• Bennett Elementary
• Bohach Elementary
• Booth Elementary
• Brown Elementary
• Cannan Elementary
• Caughlin Ranch Elementary
• Corbett Elementary
• Desert Heights Elementary
• Diedrichsen Elementary
• Dodson Elementary
• Donner Springs Elementary
• Double Diamond Elementary
• Drake Elementary
• Duncan Elementary
• Dunn Elementary
• Elmcrest Elementary
• Gomes Elementary
• Gomm Elementary
• Greenbrae Elementary
• Hall Elementary
• Hidden Valley Elementary
• Huffaker Elementary
• Hunsberger Elementary
• Hunter Lake Elementary
• Incline Elementary
• Inskeep Elementary
• Juniper Elementary
• JWood Raw Elementary
• Kate Smith Elementary
• Lemelson Elementary
• Lemmon Valley Elementary
• Lenz Elementary
• Lincoln Park Elementary
• Loder Elementary
• Mathews Elementary
• Maxwell Elementary
• Melton Elementary
• Mitchell Elementary
• Moss Elementary
• Natchez Elementary
• Palmer Elementary
• Peavine Elementary
• Pleasant Valley Elementary
• Poulakidas Elementary
• Risley Elementary
• Sepulveda Elementary
• Silver Lake Elementary
• Smithridge Elementary
• Spanish Springs Elementary
• Stead Elementary
• Sun Valley Elementary
• Taylor Elementary
• Towles Elementary
• Van Gorder Elementary
• Verdi Elementary
• Veterans Elementary
• Warner Elementary
• Westergard Elementary
• Whitehead Elementary
• Winnemucca Elementary

Washoe also lists Mount Rose K-8: Academy of Languages.

Questions Washoe parents should ask

1. When will we get my child’s NNAT3 results, and where will they show up in Infinite Campus?
2. What percentile did my child score, and does that put them in the 98th percentile group or the 95th to 97th percentile matrix review?
3. When is the opt-in form due, and when will GATE services start at our school?
4. Which GATE model does our school use: pull-out, GEMS, or something else?
5. When are SWAS invitations sent, and what extra criteria does SWAS use?
6. What is the referral deadline for the March 2027 testing window?
7. How many of my child’s three lifetime tests have already been used?

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

In Washoe, the NNAT3 comes in the first weeks of 2nd and 5th grade, so most preparation happens over the summer before. (Spring referral testing uses the CogAT®, which is a different test.)

1. Start with the format. Show your child each of the four NNAT question types in short sessions, and talk through the rule after every question. A good explanation names the rule, so your child can use it on the next question. 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 type. Most children find one or two question types harder. Focus there once the basics feel familiar. 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® goes deeper on each step.