Gifted and Talented Tests Explained: CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT, SHSAT

The short answer

US gifted programs usually screen with an ability test: the CogAT (Riverside Insights), NNAT3 or OLSAT 8 (Pearson), sometimes alongside the Iowa Assessments; NYC Gifted and Talented uses no test at all. Selective high schools use entrance tests: the SHSAT, Hunter's own exam, MAP Growth in Boston, the HSPT, TACHS, ISEE or SSAT. Modern Age Coders teaches the reasoning and math underneath them live online, in a batch or 1-on-1.

Where we can help

Three courses for the thinking these tests sample

One for young children facing a screener, one for middle schoolers aiming at an entrance test, and one that grows problem solving at any age in between.

Reasoning and Readiness for Young Thinkers (Ages 6 to 9) course thumbnail

USGS / 01

Reasoning and readiness, ages 6 to 9

Patterns, shapes and amounts through play and talk; no imitation test items.

Open the syllabus →

$SHSAT Math Prep course thumbnail$

USGS / 02

SHSAT math prep, grades 7 to 9

Middle school math without a calculator, also useful for Hunter and Boston applicants.

Open the syllabus →

Problem Solving and Computational Thinking for Kids course thumbnail

USGS / 03

Problem solving for kids

Breaking a puzzle into steps, testing a rule and explaining it.

Open the syllabus →

All tests

What are the main gifted and selective school tests in the US?

Thirteen tests and processes cover most of what a US family meets between kindergarten and grade 9: four screening tests, two district processes, and seven routes into selective or private high schools.

US gifted screening and selective school tests compared (organisers' own pages and documents, re-read 1 November 2026; quoted words in quotation marks, the rest summarised)
Test or process	Publisher or run by	Who takes it	What it measures, in the organiser's words	Format as published
CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test)	Riverside Insights	Kindergarten to grade 12; many districts screen in grade 2	"measures verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning"	Three batteries; the Screening Form takes "approximately 30 minutes"
NNAT3 (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test)	Pearson	Kindergarten to grade 12	"a nonverbal measure of general ability"	30 minutes, online or paper, group-administered; pictorial directions
OLSAT 8 (Otis-Lennon School Ability Test)	Pearson	Grades K to 12 on paper, grades 2 to 12 online	"verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative cognitive abilities"	Single form with seven levels; untimed, maximum 75 minutes
Iowa Assessments	Riverside Insights	Grades K to 12	Achievement: "what students have learned"	Equivalent Forms E, F and G; complete, core or survey batteries
NYC Gifted and Talented	NYC Public Schools	Entry to kindergarten to grade 4	No admissions test: pre-K teacher evaluation or interview, or report card grades	Online application; kindergarten window December 9, 2026 to January 22, 2027
District G&T identification	Each school district	Often every child in one grade, commonly grade 2	"Multiple criteria are used" (Charlotte-Mecklenburg)	An ability test plus teacher, parent and classroom evidence
SHSAT	NYC Public Schools	NYC residents in grade 8, or first-time grade 9	"the sole factor" for the eight testing specialized high schools	50 questions per section, 180 minutes standard time, computer-adaptive from fall 2026
Hunter College High School entrance exam	Hunter College Campus Schools	Students currently in grade 6, for grade 7 entry	Reading comprehension, mathematics and a writing assignment	Three hours; 30 multiple-choice math questions; no calculator; January 27, 2027
Boston exam schools	Boston Public Schools	Boston residents entering grade 6, 8 or 9 in September 2026	A composite "30% on MAP Growth and 70% GPA"	MAP Growth (NWEA) in reading and math, January 2027
HSPT (High School Placement Test)	Scholastic Testing Service	Grade 8, for grade 9 placement	Verbal, quantitative, reading, mathematics and language skills	Five subtests (math 64 items, quantitative 52); no calculator
TACHS	Riverside Insights with three New York dioceses	Grade 8 in 2026 to 2027	"academic achievement in reading, written expression, and mathematics, along with general reasoning skills"	Online at home, about 2 hours and 10 minutes, 6 timed subtests, built-in four-function calculator
ISEE	E3n, through admission.org	Students applying to grades 2 to 12	Verbal and quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics achievement, unscored essay	Online, paper or at home; Middle and Upper Level 2 hours 40 minutes plus two breaks
SSAT	E3n, through admission.org	Students currently in grades 3 to 11	"verbal, math, and reading skills" plus a non-scored writing sample	"virtually unspeeded"; paper, SSAT at Home or a Prometric center

Sources: Riverside Insights CogAT and Iowa Assessments brochures; Pearson’s NNAT3 and OLSAT 8 product pages; NYC Public Schools Gifted and Talented and SHSAT pages; Hunter College Campus Schools admissions; Boston Public Schools exam schools; Scholastic Testing Service HSPT pages and Interpretive Manual; the TACHS Student Handbook, Parent Guide and FAQ; ISEE and SSAT pages at admission.org. Read raw between 31 October and 1 November 2026. Modern Age Coders is not connected with any publisher, school system, diocese or school named here.

Gifted screening

Which test does a gifted and talented program use for screening?

Most public districts pick one ability test, give it to every child in one grade, and treat the score as one piece of a larger picture. The four names below cover nearly every district letter, and two pages explain the processes around them.

The four screening tests

If the letter names the Cognitive Abilities Test, our CogAT reasoning and readiness page walks through its verbal, quantitative and figural batteries and the way four districts read the results, with paper-folding and sorting games for ages 6 to 9.

A child who is still learning English often meets the Naglieri test instead. The NNAT3 guide explains why a picture-only test with pictorial directions suits mixed-language classrooms, and teaches children to track what moves and what stays fixed in a design.

Connecticut and California districts are among those that still give the Otis-Lennon. Our OLSAT 8 page focuses on the listening and sequencing habits a young child needs when directions are read aloud once.

The Iowa Assessments math page is the odd one out: it covers an achievement test, so it teaches real grade 1 to 5 math, from reading a bar graph to subtracting across zeros, rather than reasoning play.

The processes around the tests

For families whose district letter names no test at all, or names several, the gifted and talented test prep guide lays out the usual sequence from universal screening to a placement team, and why a single score rarely decides anything.

New York City is the exception that confuses everyone. Its NYC Gifted and Talented guide covers the 2027 application windows, how a report card grade converts to the 1 to 4 scale, and what kindergarten teachers look for, because the city no longer tests at all.

When a screening test usually arrives, by grade (our summary of the district pages quoted on this site, read 31 October 2026)
Grade	What some districts do	Example from a published district page
Kindergarten	NYC families apply for G&T entry; no test	NYC Public Schools: kindergarten window December 9, 2026 to January 22, 2027
Grade 1	A nonverbal screener for every child	Fort Worth ISD: "universal screener for all first graders" (NNAT3)
Grade 2	The most common universal screening year	San Ramon Valley (CogAT), Edmonds (NNAT3), Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CogAT with i-Ready)
Grade 3	A second chance, or the first screen in some towns	Darien Public Schools: the OLSAT in "grades 3 and 5"
Grades 1 to 4	NYC G&T entry by report card	Grades 1 to 4 window April 19 to May 7, 2027
Grade 6	A later screen for middle school services	Edmonds School District screens grade 6 with the NNAT3

New York City has no G&T test. The city’s Gifted and Talented page says the programs "offer accelerated instruction" to eligible elementary students, and describes eligibility by pre-K teacher evaluation, by interview after which "early childhood education experts nominate eligible applicants", or, for grades 1 to 4, by report card grades "of a 3 or 4, or the equivalent". It mentions no admissions test anywhere. A family in New York who is offered a paid G&T test course should know that no such test exists in the current process.

Prep or not

Should you prepare a child for a gifted test?

Not by drilling. Several districts and publishers say in writing that they discourage commercial preparation, and their reasons are worth reading before anyone spends money. What does help is a calm child who has seen the format once and who reasons, counts and builds for fun.

What districts and test organisers say about preparation, in their own words (pages read 31 October 2026)
Organiser	Test	What they say
San Ramon Valley Unified School District, California	CogAT	"Our district does not recommend any materials for CogAT preparation." Students are encouraged toward "minimal test preparation".
Edmonds School District, Washington	NNAT3	"excessive preparation for the NNAT isn't recommended"; asked whether a child should study first, the district answers "No".
Darien Public Schools, Connecticut	OLSAT	"No one score on any one measure determines placement."
Hunter College High School, New York	Entrance exam	The school "does not endorse any test preparation service or agency".
Riverside Insights and three dioceses	TACHS	Riverside Insights, with the dioceses, "does not encourage or endorse coaching or tutoring programs", and "Official TACHS practice tests are not published or provided".
Scholastic Testing Service	HSPT	Advises families to "avoid expensive preparation materials" and to trust a "well-rounded education".

Why the organisers say this

A reasoning screener is meant to show how a child thinks on an ordinary morning. Rehearsing look-alike puzzles can lift the score without changing the thinking, and a child may then land in a class paced beyond them.

Outside scores are often refused too. Charlotte-Mecklenburg says private testing is not accepted for gifted identification, and St. Louis Public Schools says assessments from other districts or independent examiners are not accepted. Paying for a private sitting rarely buys a second route in.

What honest readiness looks like

Familiarity with the format, once: the district’s own sample sheet, or the publisher’s free family guide, so that the screen, the pictures or the read-aloud directions are not a surprise.

Broad reasoning, number sense and spatial play, for months rather than days: sorting objects and saying why, building and folding, noticing patterns on a calendar, splitting numbers into parts. These habits help in class whether or not a program place follows, which is why our young-learner lessons are built on them and never on copied items.

Exam schools

Which entrance test do selective and private high schools use?

It depends on the city and the kind of school. Public exam schools in New York and Boston run their own processes; Catholic high schools usually use the HSPT, or the TACHS in the New York dioceses; independent schools ask for the ISEE or SSAT. Six pages here cover them.

Public exam schools

Eighth graders in the five boroughs who want Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech or the other testing schools should start with SHSAT math prep and tutoring, which covers the move to a computer-adaptive format in fall 2026 and what that means for pacing and skipping.

Hunter College High School takes students only at grade 7, through an exam it writes itself. Our Hunter entrance exam math page is for sixth graders, and works on five-choice elimination and calculator-free pattern spotting before the January 27, 2027 sitting.

Boston is different again: no Boston-written exam, but a composite of a MAP Growth score and grades. The Boston exam schools math guide explains that formula and uses weighted averages as real math practice.

Catholic and independent schools

Many Catholic high schools outside New York use the Scholastic Testing Service battery. HSPT math prep concentrates on its two number subtests, quantitative skills and mathematics, with number series and quantity comparisons.

Families applying to Catholic high schools in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens or Long Island meet the TACHS instead. Our TACHS math page covers the at-home online sitting and when the new built-in calculator is worth using.

Independent day and boarding schools ask for one of two tests from the same nonprofit. The ISEE and SSAT math prep page takes each level in turn, with number sense and comparison strategy for both.

Selective and private high school tests: entry point, calculator and key 2026 to 2027 date (organisers' pages, read 31 October to 1 November 2026)
Test	Entry grade	Calculator	Key date published
SHSAT	Grade 9 (or grade 10 from a first-time grade 9 sitting)	Not permitted	Register by October 30, 2026 in MySchools
Hunter College High School	Grade 7 only	Not permitted	Exam on January 27, 2027
Boston exam schools	Grades 7 and 9 (O'Bryant also takes a few in grade 10)	See NWEA's MAP Growth guidance	MAP Growth in school January 11 to 15, 2027
HSPT	Grade 9	Not permitted	Set by each high school; STS runs no national test day
TACHS	Grade 9	A basic four-function calculator inside the platform, new in 2026	November 6, 2026 (Archdiocese of New York) and November 7, 2026
ISEE and SSAT	Grades 2 to 12 (ISEE), grades 3 to 11 sit the SSAT	See the organiser's page	Fall, winter and spring testing seasons for the ISEE; see admission.org

One surprise for parents: NYC Public Schools says the SHSAT "is not used to determine admissions to LaGuardia High School". Another: the Hunter, SHSAT and HSPT math sections allow no calculator, so accurate mental arithmetic matters more than any trick.

Advanced programs

What programs are there for advanced students beyond school gifted classes?

Talent searches, online schools and acceleration policies serve students who need more than their grade offers.

After Duke TIP

Duke’s provost notes that TIP and its Academic Talent Search were "permanently closed" in 2020. Our Duke TIP alternatives page compares the university programs families now use, such as Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development, which says "No test scores or portfolio materials needed to enroll." at its open tier.

An online high school

Stanford Online High School serves students in grades 7 to 12 and states that "Admission to Stanford OHS is competitive". Our Stanford OHS math page looks at its proof-centred courses and the January 7, 2027 deadline.

Acceleration at school

Texas now enrolls sixth graders in the top 40 percent on the Grade 5 Math STAAR in an advanced track automatically. The accelerated math program page maps what compacted math squeezes together, grade 7 idea by grade 8 idea.

How to choose

How do you find out which test your child needs?

Start from the decision, not the test. Work out who decides the place your child wants, read that body’s own page, and only then pick a member page here. Six steps, then one worked example of ours.

Name the decision. Is this a gifted service inside your child’s current school, a separate public school with an entrance process, or a private or Catholic school? Each has a different decider.
Find the decider’s own page. For gifted services that is your district’s advanced learning or GATE page; for exam schools, the city school system; for Catholic schools, the diocese or the school; for independent schools, the admissions office.
Read the test name and the grade. Write down exactly what the page names (CogAT Screening Form, NNAT3, MAP Growth, HSPT) and which grade sits it. Our table above shows what each name means.
Check whether there is a test at all. NYC Gifted and Talented has none, and Boston weighs grades more than the test. A family can lose months preparing for the wrong thing.
Read what the decider says about preparation. If the district says no materials are recommended, take it at its word; if the school publishes free samples, use those and nothing imitation.
Open the matching page here. Each quotes the organiser and teaches the thinking underneath with problems we wrote.

Worked example (ours): one family, two tests

Picture a family in Queens with a first grader and a seventh grader. For the younger child, steps 1 and 2 lead to the NYC Gifted and Talented page. Step 4 settles it: no test. The grades 1 to 4 window opens on April 19, 2027 and eligibility rests on report card grades, so the job is good classroom work and a calm application, not a prep course.

For the older child, step 1 gives two kinds of school. A specialized high school means the SHSAT in grade 8, in fall 2027, under NYC Public Schools. A Catholic high school in the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens means the TACHS, also in grade 8. Both tests include calculator-light math, so a year of strong middle school math serves both, and the family can decide on registrations a year from now.

What this example shows

The same household met three processes and only two of them were tests. The family read the organisers’ pages first, so nobody spent a winter drilling a six-year-old for an exam that does not exist.

Thinking, not items

What kind of reasoning practice is honest at home?

Puzzles that grow a real habit, and look nothing like a test page. Here are two calendar warm-ups we wrote, one for ages 7 to 9 and one for middle schoolers, with the reasoning written out.

Warm-up 1 (ours, ages 7 to 9)

Question. The 3rd of a month is a Tuesday. What day of the week is the 24th?

Talking it through. A week is 7 days, so every 7 days you land on Tuesday again: the 10th, the 17th and the 24th. Three jumps of 7 is 21, and 3 + 21 = 24. The 24th is a Tuesday. Saying "it repeats every seven" is the rule; check it on a real calendar.

Warm-up 2 (ours, grades 6 to 8)

Question. Today is a Wednesday. What day of the week will it be in 100 days?

Talking it through. Whole weeks change nothing, so only the remainder after dividing by 7 matters. 100 = 14 x 7 + 2, so after 98 days it is Wednesday again, and 2 more days gives Friday. Same idea as warm-up 1, now as division with remainders.

Grade by grade

A route through the tests, kindergarten to grade 8

Our map, built from the grades each organiser publishes. Your district may differ.

When each test or process can appear (ours)
Grade	What may come up
Kindergarten	NYC G&T application, decided without a test
Grades 1 to 3	CogAT, NNAT3 or OLSAT 8 screening; Iowa in some states; ISEE Primary for grade 2 entry
Grades 4 to 6	Later screens; Hunter eligibility from grade 5 state tests; Boston applications
Grade 7	Hunter entry; SSAT and ISEE; Boston grade 7 entry
Grade 8	SHSAT, HSPT and TACHS for grade 9 places

For parents

Most children meet one or two of these, not thirteen. Find yours and set the rest aside.

For students

Ask which test, who runs it and when. Then read that organiser’s page with a parent.

The catalogue

Courses from first puzzles to middle school math

Live courses arranged by age, so a family can carry on after a screening or an entrance test with the same teachers.

I

Young thinkers

Ages 4 to 9

USGS / Y / 01

Reasoning and readiness

Patterns, shapes, amounts.

Open the syllabus

USGS / Y / 02

Early math foundations

Concrete, playful number.

Open the syllabus

USGS / Y / 03

Mental math

Number sense, not tricks.

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II

Middle school

Grades 6 to 9

USGS / M / 01

SHSAT math prep

Calculator-free middle school math.

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USGS / M / 02

Middle school math

Grades 6 to 8 in depth.

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USGS / M / 03

Math competitions

Contest problems, explained.

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III

Thinking in steps

Ages 7 and up

USGS / T / 01

Problem solving

Rules, steps, checks.

Open the syllabus

USGS / T / 02

Scratch coding

Logic you can watch run.

Open the syllabus

USGS / T / 03

Algebra foundations

Ready for Algebra I.

Open the syllabus

How lessons run

Live lessons that grow the thinking, not the test score

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Weekdays

After-school sessions sized to the child’s age.

Weekends

Longer problem sessions for middle schoolers.

1-on-1

One teacher, one plan, one child.

Organiser first

We read your test’s own page with you.

Our problems

Written by us, never lifted from a publisher.

Reason aloud

Students say why before they answer.

Right test, right age

Play for six-year-olds, math for eighth graders.

Honest limits

No score, place or program promises.

Batch or private

Groups of fifteen to twenty, or one to one.

Student work

What our students build

Puzzles, games and first programs from children in our classes. See more on student labs.

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Questions from families

Gifted and selective school tests: common questions

What test is used for gifted and talented programs?

Most US districts use one ability test for screening, usually the CogAT from Riverside Insights or the NNAT3 or OLSAT 8 from Pearson, sometimes with the Iowa Assessments. The score is then weighed with teacher, parent and classroom evidence. Your district's own page names its test.

What is the difference between the CogAT, NNAT and OLSAT?

All three sample reasoning rather than school learning. The CogAT has verbal, quantitative and nonverbal batteries; the NNAT3 is entirely nonverbal, with pictorial directions; the OLSAT 8 covers verbal, nonverbal and quantitative abilities and is untimed up to 75 minutes.

Does NYC have a gifted and talented test?

No. NYC Public Schools decides kindergarten eligibility through pre-K teacher evaluations or interviews, and grades 1 to 4 eligibility through report card grades of 3 or 4 or the equivalent. Its Gifted and Talented page describes no admissions test.

Can you prepare a child for a gifted test?

You can make a child comfortable with the format and grow reasoning through play, but drilling look-alike items is not real preparation. San Ramon Valley Unified recommends no CogAT materials, and Edmonds says excessive NNAT preparation is not recommended.

What grade do children take gifted tests?

Grade 2 is the most common universal screening year, used by San Ramon Valley, Edmonds and Charlotte-Mecklenburg among others. Fort Worth screens grade 1, and Darien screens grades 3 and 5.

Which test do I need for a NYC specialized high school?

The SHSAT, taken in grade 8 or as a first-time ninth grader. NYC Public Schools calls it the sole factor for the eight testing specialized high schools, and it becomes computer-adaptive from fall 2026. LaGuardia High School does not use it.

What is the difference between the HSPT, TACHS, ISEE and SSAT?

The HSPT and TACHS are used by Catholic high schools, with the TACHS in the New York dioceses. The ISEE and SSAT are used by independent day and boarding schools and are now both offered through admission.org. Each covers reading, math and reasoning in its own format.

Is a calculator allowed on these tests?

Not on the SHSAT, the Hunter exam or the HSPT math subtests. The TACHS gives a basic four-function calculator inside its platform from 2026, and personal calculators are not allowed. For the ISEE and SSAT, check the organiser's current rules.

What happened to Duke TIP?

Duke's provost office says TIP and its Academic Talent Search closed permanently in 2020, and Duke's summer work continues through Duke Pre-College. Families now look at programs such as Northwestern's Center for Talent Development.

When are your classes held?

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Are you connected with any test publisher or school?

No. Modern Age Coders is an independent online school, not linked with Riverside Insights, Pearson, NYC Public Schools, Hunter, Boston Public Schools, STS, the dioceses or E3n. We quote and link their pages, and we cannot promise any score, gifted placement or school place.

Elsewhere on this site

Related doors

Other pages for US families weighing tests and stretch work.

MAP Growth math

The NWEA test inside the Boston formula.

Middle school math placement

When a school decides who skips ahead.

PSAT 8/9 math

An above-grade test some programs accept.

Middle school math contests

Stretch for strong problem solvers.

Math Kangaroo

A gentle first contest for young children.

Homeschool math

Building a sequence outside school.

Every page in this guide

Gifted and talented screening

Exam schools and private high schools

Programs for advanced students

More guides: US state math tests by state · US math placement and college readiness tests · Homeschool and school math curricula guide · US math and coding competitions guide

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Three courses for the thinking these tests sample

Reasoning and readiness, ages 6 to 9

SHSAT math prep, grades 7 to 9

Problem solving for kids

What are the main gifted and selective school tests in the US?

Which test does a gifted and talented program use for screening?

The four screening tests

The processes around the tests

Should you prepare a child for a gifted test?

Why the organisers say this

What honest readiness looks like

Which entrance test do selective and private high schools use?

Public exam schools

Catholic and independent schools

What programs are there for advanced students beyond school gifted classes?

After Duke TIP

An online high school

Acceleration at school

How do you find out which test your child needs?

Worked example (ours): one family, two tests

What this example shows

What kind of reasoning practice is honest at home?

Warm-up 1 (ours, ages 7 to 9)

Warm-up 2 (ours, grades 6 to 8)

A route through the tests, kindergarten to grade 8

For parents

For students

Courses from first puzzles to middle school math

Young thinkers

Reasoning and readiness

Early math foundations

Mental math

Middle school

SHSAT math prep

Middle school math

Math competitions

Thinking in steps

Problem solving

Scratch coding

Algebra foundations

Live lessons that grow the thinking, not the test score

Organiser first

Our problems

Reason aloud

Right test, right age

Honest limits

Batch or private

What our students build

NutriLife

Misti

GuardianX

SkyCast

Fees

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Gifted and selective school tests: common questions

What test is used for gifted and talented programs?

What is the difference between the CogAT, NNAT and OLSAT?

Does NYC have a gifted and talented test?

Can you prepare a child for a gifted test?

What grade do children take gifted tests?

Which test do I need for a NYC specialized high school?

What is the difference between the HSPT, TACHS, ISEE and SSAT?

Is a calculator allowed on these tests?

What happened to Duke TIP?

When are your classes held?

Are you connected with any test publisher or school?

Related doors

MAP Growth math

Middle school math placement

PSAT 8/9 math

Middle school math contests

Math Kangaroo

Homeschool math

Every page in this guide

Gifted and talented screening

Exam schools and private high schools

Programs for advanced students

Book a free first class

Want a class sooner? Book a priority demo

Keep exploring Modern Age Coders