Fairfax County Public Schools
Advanced Academic Programs (AAP): Access to Rigor, Subject-Specific, Part-Time and Full-Time services; open-enrollment secondary advanced coursework
District gifted testing
Compare gifted testing rules by school district.
Gifted identification is local. Start here to see which tests each district names, which grades are screened, whether a referral is needed, and whether the district publishes cutoff-style criteria.
District guides ready for parents
Loudoun County Public Schools
Gifted and Talented Education — SEARCH (K-3 thinking-skills/screening exposure), FUSION (grades 4-5 school-based collaborative gifted program — formerly named FUTURA), DCI/Differentiated Classroom Instruction (grades 4-5 single-subject ELA and/or Math track), EDGE (K-5 talent-development on-ramp for underrepresented groups — explicitly NOT itself a gifted service), and SPECTRUM (grades 6-8)
Arlington Public Schools
Advanced Academics & Talent Development (also 'Gifted Services'); identification categories: (1) Specific academic aptitude in language arts, math, science, and/or social studies (K-12), (2) Visual and/or performing arts aptitude (grades 3-12)
Montgomery County Public Schools
Accelerated and Enriched Instruction (AEI), within the Division of Teaching and Learning; sub-programs include Centers for Enriched Studies (CES), Elementary Center Programs for the Highly Gifted, Gifted & Talented/Learning Disabled (GT/LD, 'twice-exceptional') services, and magnet/Signature programs
Alexandria City Public Schools
Advanced Academic Services (AAS) — renamed from Talented and Gifted (TAG) Services under the updated Local Plan for the Gifted 2023-2028, approved by the ACPS School Board on June 1, 2023
Falls Church City Public Schools
Advanced Academics (formerly branded 'ACE' — Academic and Creative Endeavors; legacy ACE-branded URLs now 404, current hub is fccps.org/page/advanced-academics)
Howard County Public School System
Gifted and Talented (G/T) Education Program
Prince William County Public Schools
Gifted Education & Talent Development (K-12 gifted resource services); governed by the Local Plan for the Education of the Gifted (2022-27, approved by School Board Oct 4, 2022)
Which test, which grade, and how selection is framed?
| District | Tests named | Grades / timing | Universal or referral? | Cutoff framing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCPS | NGAT for Grade 2 and selected referred students; paper CogAT only as an accommodation | Grade 2 universal screener; grades 3-7 by referral for Full-Time AAP | Universal Grade 2 pool plus staff, family, or self-referral | No public cutoff; central holistic portfolio review |
| LCPS | CogAT in Grade 2, NNAT2 in Grade 3, plus MAP and portfolio evidence | All Grade 3 students evaluated for services unless a family opts out | Universal testing and evaluation in the elementary pipeline; referrals outside that cycle | No current live cutoff; eligibility described as holistic committee review |
| APS | NNAT in Grade 1 and CogAT in Grade 2, named on APS school pages | Universal screening at multiple elementary and middle grades; K-12 referral possible | Automatic benchmark screening plus April 1 referral pathway | No public cutoff; holistic case-study committee |
| MCPS | CogAT screener in Grade 2; MAP-R and academic data for Grade 3 CES review | Grade 2 GT screening and Grade 3 CES Central Review | Universal Grade 2 and Grade 3 processes; referrals for other situations | No rank-order cutoff; CES candidate pool uses lottery when seats are limited |
| ACPS | CogAT, NNAT, MAP Growth, and gifted rating scale data | Grade 3 automatic-referral screening; K-8 referral and Young Scholars pathways | Grade 3 automatic referral trigger plus ongoing referrals | Publishes referral triggers, not a final eligibility cutoff |
| FCCPS | NNAT3 in Grade 1, CogAT in Grade 2, STAR, SOL, rating scales, and accepted outside tests | Grade 1 and Grade 2 universal tests; grades 3-8 referrals for Level Two or Three | Universal early testing with referral-based later placement review | Publishes numeric criteria bands, but no single score is decisive |
| HCPSS | CogAT in Grades 3 and 5, MAP Math, MCAP, and performance measures | Universal screening begins in Grade 3 under Maryland rules; CogAT repeats in Grade 5 | Universal Grade 3 and Grade 5 review, then course placement review or requests | Publishes percentile criteria for some placements; Accelerated Math has a higher bar |
| PWCS | NNAT3 in Grade 2, CogAT in Grade 3, NNAT3 also listed for Grades 6 and 9, plus KBIT-2R in committee contexts | Grade 2 NNAT3 and Grade 3 CogAT universal screening; K-12 referral possible year-round | Universal ability testing in two grades plus year-round referral | No public cutoff; holistic committee profile |
Useful cross-district patterns
Districts that use the NGAT
As of the current verified records, NGAT is named on the FCPS page.
Districts that test every 2nd grader
These districts name a universal Grade 2 testing or screening point in their verified records.
Districts with public numeric criteria or referral triggers
Most districts do not publish one final gifted cutoff. These guides include public numeric criteria, referral triggers, or placement bars that parents can read carefully.
A cutoff is not always a cutoff.
Some districts publish referral triggers, some publish placement criteria, and some explicitly decline to publish a single score. The district pages separate those cases because the parent decision is different in each one.
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