The CogAT Nomination Window Is Open Through 2/23.
Testing will be administered in an online format in one session. Please connect with your GT teacher/proctor to determine the testing environment.
The full battery CogAT can take up to two hours. Please carefully consider if your child is ready for this length and format of testing.
We want students to feel as comfortable as possible with the testing process. Study or drill is not recommended or necessary as preparation. However, talking briefly with your child about this upcoming experience will help.
What Can I Do to Help My Student Prepare?
A child who is well rested and well fed and has a positive attitude about testing is best prepared for testing. You can help your student do his or her best by considering these tips:
Make sure your child is on time on test day.
Get a good night’s sleep. Studies have shown that when students are well rested, their overall test performance improves.
Feed your child a good breakfast to fuel their brain!
Emphasize that you have confidence in his or her ability to do the best job possible.
Remind your child to listen carefully to the directions and to each question as it is read aloud during testing. Encourage your child to ask the proctor for help if he or she does not understand the directions.
Parents are encouraged to send snacks with their children for break times during the test.
Do not make a big deal of the assessment. If you are anxious about it, your child will be as well.
We do not recommend paying for practice questions through various online services. These assessments are designed to capture reasoning ability, not learned skills, so practice is not necessary.
In compliance with the Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA), the Gifted and Talented (GT) Department implements a universal screening each fall semester to aid in the identification and programming of students in need of gifted education services. All DPS students in grades kindergarten, 2nd, and 6th are automatically screened using the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test® (NNAT3).
WHAT IS THIS ASSESSMENT?
The NNAT3 is a brief, nonverbal measure of general intellectual ability that yields a norm-based score. The NNAT3 consists of geometric shapes with pictorial directions and minimal verbal instructions. This test is intended to screen a wide variety of students including those with limited educational experiences, those who come from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, or linguistic backgrounds, and those who have language disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, or are deaf or hard of hearing.
Testing is in an online format, and takes approximately 30 minutes to administer. The NNAT3 consists of 48 multiple choice questions in pictorial form. The test is self-paced, but the students are given 30 minutes in which to complete the test. Students can check their answers before completing the test.
WHEN IS MY CHILD BEING TESTED?
NNAT3 universal screening occurs in the fall semester for ALL students in Kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades. Some NNAT testing may occur in the spring for students who were not enrolled in DPS during the fall assessment window.
Families will receive an “Intent to Test” letter prior to the testing date with the dates scheduled at their student’s school. NNAT testing will occur at the child’s school (if currently enrolled in DPS) or at a site determined by the Gifted and Talented Office (if homeschooled, out-of district, or private school). Please refer to http://gt.dpsk12.org for more information.
WHAT SCORE(S) WILL MY CHILD RECEIVE?
The score for the NNAT3 is reported in a national percentile ranking which compares your student’s results to those of a group of students of the same age chosen to be representative of the U.S. population. Percentile rank tells you what percentage of students scored the same or below your student. For example, if a student scores at the 90th percentile, that means that they scored the same or better than 90% of the students of the same age. Percentile ranks range from 1 to 99, and a score at the 50th percentile is average for that student's age.
HOW WILL THESE SCORES BE USED?
The purpose of the NNAT is to provide one data point towards an overall body of evidence towards gifted identification, programming, and/or placement at a highly gifted magnet site. Please note: One test score alone may not identify a student as gifted and talented.
For more information on gifted and talented identification, the universal screening process or levels of gifted service offered in Denver Public Schools, please contact the Gifted and Talented teacher at your student’s school or visit the Gifted and Talented Department website: http://gt.dpsk12.org
The Gifted and Talented (GT) Department uses the Cognitive Abilities Test® (CogAT) as part of a larger body of evidence to identify students for gifted education services, in compliance with the Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA). The CogAT is administered to students who have been nominated (by parents, guardians, or teachers) for Gifted and Talented testing. Students receive the CogAT assessment if they are in a grade level that did not participate in the Universal Screening during kindergarten, 2nd, and 6th grades. Applicants outside of those grades will be tested with the CogAT. Please refer to http://gt.dpsk12.org for more information, nomination form and nomination deadlines.
WHAT IS THIS ASSESSMENT?
The CogAT consists of multiple choice questions divided into three sections (Verbal Battery, Quantitative Battery, and Nonverbal Battery) with three tests per section, for a total of nine subtests. The verbal battery assesses students’ abilities to use search, retrieval, and comparison using words. The quantitative battery assesses students’ abilities to reason using numerical patterns and relationships. The nonverbal battery assesses students’ reasoning abilities through spatial and figural content.
Testing is in an online format, and takes approximately 2 hours to administer. With the exception of 1st graders who receive the questions verbally from a proctor, each subtest is timed at 10 minutes. Students have the opportunity to review their answers before submitting within that time limit.
WHEN IS MY CHILD BEING TESTED?
CogAT testing windows occur twice per calendar year: in the fall and in the spring. Please refer to http://gt.dpsk12.org for more information, nomination form, and nomination deadlines.
Families will receive an “Intent to Test” letter prior to the testing date with the dates scheduled at their student’s school. CogAT testing will occur at the child’s school (if currently enrolled in DPS) or at a site determined by the Gifted and Talented Office (if homeschooled, out-of district, or private school).
WHAT SCORE(S) WILL MY CHILD RECEIVE?
The scores for the CogAT are reported in percentiles which compare your student’s results to those of a group of students of the same age representative of the U.S. population. Percentile rank tells you what percentage of students scored the same or below your student. For example, if a student scores at the 90th percentile, that means that they scored the same or better than 90% of the students of the same age. Percentile ranks range from 1 to 99, and a score at the 50th percentile is average for that student's age.
HOW WILL THESE SCORES BE USED?
The CogAT scores will be used to provide one data point towards an overall body of evidence for gifted identification, programming, and/or placement at a highly gifted magnet site. Please note: One test score alone may not identify a student as gifted and talented.
For more information on gifted and talented identification, the universal screening process or levels of gifted service offered in Denver Public Schools, please contact the Gifted and Talented teacher at your student’s school or visit the Gifted and Talented Department website: http://gt.dpsk12.org
In compliance with the Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA), the Gifted and Talented (GT) Department implements a universal screening each fall semester to aid in the identification and programming of students for the purpose of gifted education services. All DPS students in grades kindergarten, 2nd, and 6th are included in the screening for Gifted and Talented services and/or identification.
WHAT IS THIS ASSESSMENT?
The NGAT consists of multiple choice questions divided into three sections (Verbal Battery, Quantitative Battery, and Nonverbal Battery) that yield age-normed scores. The Verbal battery requires students to understand the relationships among six pictures to determine what verbal concept is shared by five of the pictures and which does not represent the concept. The Nonverbal battery requires the student to decipher the logic behind the relationships among shapes, their color, sequences, orientation, etc. to determine which option completes the pattern. The Quantitative battery requires students to examine the relationships, patterns, and sequences among numbers and/or symbols using basic math concepts. No words are presented in any of the batteries.
This test is intended to assess cognitive ability across many student populations, including those with limited educational experiences, those who come from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and/or linguistic backgrounds, and those who have language disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, or are deaf or hard of hearing. Testing is in an online format and takes approximately 30 minutes per subtest to administer. The NGAT consists of 40 multiple choice questions per subtest in pictorial form. The test is self-paced, but the students are given 30 minutes in which to complete each battery of the test. Students can check their answers before completing the test.
WHEN IS MY CHILD BEING TESTED?
The NGAT universal screening occurs in the fall semester. Some NGAT testing may occur in the spring for students who were not enrolled in DPS during the fall assessment window.
Families will receive an “Intent to Test” letter before the testing date with the dates scheduled at their student’s school. NGAT testing will occur at the child’s school (if currently enrolled in DPS) or at a site determined by the Gifted and Talented Office (if homeschooled, out-of-district, or private school). Please refer to http://gt.dpsk12.org for more information.
WHAT SCORE(S) WILL MY CHILD RECEIVE?
The score for the NGAT is reported in a national percentile ranking which compares your student’s results to those of a group of students of the same age chosen to be representative of the U.S. population. Percentile rank tells you what percentage of students scored the same or below your student. For example, if a student scores at the 90th percentile, that means that they scored the same or better than 90% of the students of the same age. Percentile ranks range from 1 to 99, and a score at the 50th percentile is average for that student's age.
HOW WILL THESE SCORES BE USED?
The purpose of the NGAT during universal screening is to provide all students in kindergarten, second, and sixth grades with the opportunity to take a cognitive assessment that may result in a qualifying data point toward an overall body of evidence resulting in gifted identification, programming, and/or placement at a highly gifted magnet site. A score in the 95th percentile and above is considered a qualifying data point and also results in the student being eligible to attend a gifted magnet school in DPS. Please note: While this one score does result in magnet eligibility for school choice in our district, the state requires additional data to fully be identified as gifted.
For more information on gifted and talented identification, the universal screening process, or levels of gifted services offered in Denver Public Schools, please contact the Gifted and Talented teacher at your student’s school or visit the Gifted and Talented Department website: http://gt.dpsk12.org