Testing timeline

Map your child's gifted testing year.

Choose a verified district and grade to turn official-source windows into a parent-readable sequence: referrals, testing, decisions, placement, and appeals.

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District and grade

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VA / FCPS

Fairfax County Public Schools: Grade 2 path

Open guide

This grade is named in the district record. Use the dates below to watch the current screening, referral, decision, and appeal sequence.

Cycle note

Cycle Note

SY2025-26 cycle (most recent published as of 2026-07-02; FCPS notes all dates pending school board approval; 2026-27 dates not yet posted)

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Referral window

Full Time Referral Window Spring Cycle

Aug 18/23 – Dec 15, 2025 — no exceptions to the deadline

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Testing

NGAT Windows

October 2025 (all Grade 2, plus grades 3-7 with no score/central-eligible, plus approved retakes) and March 2026 (select grades 2-7 in central screening; no retakes in this window); one-time NGAT retake requests due Sept 30, 2025 (one retake per student)

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Testing

Part Time Subject Specific

Spring screening window in May; local school notifies family within ~30 school days; referral possible any time outside the window

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Service details

Eligibility Persistence

Full-Time eligibility, once granted, is retained through 8th grade; Transfer/Reactivation form for deferred students due May 15 for the following school year

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Appeals

Fall Cycle New Students

Referral due Oct 15, 2025; Central Screening Committee meets Dec 2025; decisions sent Dec 2025; appeals due Jan 8, 2026; eligible students may start Full-Time AAP Feb 2, 2026

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Appeals

Spring Cycle Main

Grade-2 universal-screener candidates announced early Dec 2025; referral/optional-materials deadline Dec 15, 2025; Central Screening Committee meets March 2026; decisions sent early April 2026; orientations April 13–May 1, 2026; appeals due May 1, 2026; eligible students begin Full-Time AAP fall 2026

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Appeals

Private Homeschool

Two windows/year: Fall file postmarked by Nov 14, 2025 ($100 fee); decisions by Dec 30, 2025; appeals due Jan 8, 2026. Spring file postmarked by Jan 26, 2026; decisions early April 2026; appeals due May 1, 2026

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

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Verified district timelines

VA / FCPS

Fairfax County Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 2

Tests: NGAT, Paper CogAT accommodation, WISC-V accommodation, External scores accepted

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Cycle note

Cycle Note

SY2025-26 cycle (most recent published as of 2026-07-02; FCPS notes all dates pending school board approval; 2026-27 dates not yet posted)

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Referral window

Full Time Referral Window Spring Cycle

Aug 18/23 – Dec 15, 2025 — no exceptions to the deadline

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Testing

NGAT Windows

October 2025 (all Grade 2, plus grades 3-7 with no score/central-eligible, plus approved retakes) and March 2026 (select grades 2-7 in central screening; no retakes in this window); one-time NGAT retake requests due Sept 30, 2025 (one retake per student)

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Testing

Part Time Subject Specific

Spring screening window in May; local school notifies family within ~30 school days; referral possible any time outside the window

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Service details

Eligibility Persistence

Full-Time eligibility, once granted, is retained through 8th grade; Transfer/Reactivation form for deferred students due May 15 for the following school year

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Appeals

Fall Cycle New Students

Referral due Oct 15, 2025; Central Screening Committee meets Dec 2025; decisions sent Dec 2025; appeals due Jan 8, 2026; eligible students may start Full-Time AAP Feb 2, 2026

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Appeals

Spring Cycle Main

Grade-2 universal-screener candidates announced early Dec 2025; referral/optional-materials deadline Dec 15, 2025; Central Screening Committee meets March 2026; decisions sent early April 2026; orientations April 13–May 1, 2026; appeals due May 1, 2026; eligible students begin Full-Time AAP fall 2026

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Appeals

Private Homeschool

Two windows/year: Fall file postmarked by Nov 14, 2025 ($100 fee); decisions by Dec 30, 2025; appeals due Jan 8, 2026. Spring file postmarked by Jan 26, 2026; decisions early April 2026; appeals due May 1, 2026

Source: www.fcps.edu ↗

Open district guide
VA / LCPS

Loudoun County Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 2

Tests: CogAT, NNAT, MAP

Source: www.lcps.org ↗

Testing

Cogat Grade2

Administered to all Grade 2 students in February; score reports posted to ParentVUE around Q3 report cards

Source: www.lcps.org ↗

Decision / placement

Grade3 Universal Evaluation

Portfolio/work samples collected during the year; holistic committee review in spring; eligibility results emailed to parents of eligible students in early June (per available example-year school communications)

Source: www.lcps.org ↗

Appeals

Appeals 2025 26

Elementary appeal (current 3rd-5th graders): electronic form due June 8, 2026; decisions via Permission Click by June 30, 2026. Middle school appeal (current 6th-7th graders): form opens May 29, 2026 4:00pm, due June 12, 2026; decisions by June 30, 2026

Source: www.lcps.org ↗

Open district guide
VA / APS

Arlington Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 2

Tests: NNAT, CogAT

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Referral window

Referral Deadline

April 1 annually (moves to the first day back from spring break if April 1 falls during the break); one referral per student per school year

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Testing

Universal Screening

Benchmark-based, at multiple elementary/middle grades (NNAT grade 1, CogAT grade 2 per school pages); parents may opt out

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Testing

Screening Data Gathering

Typically winter/spring of the school year (fall for students new to APS)

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Appeals

Identification Decision

Holistic case-study committee reviews all data; eligible families receive a permission form; ineligible families receive appeal instructions

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Appeals

Appeal Level One

Written appeal to the school Principal within 10 instructional days of the decision; Principal + Advanced Academics Coach meet with the family within 10 instructional days of receiving it

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Appeals

Appeal Level Two

Written appeal to the Syphax Education Center, Office of Academics, Director of Advanced Academics and Talent Development, within 10 instructional days of the Level One meeting

Source: www.apsva.us ↗

Open district guide
MD / MCPS

Montgomery County Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 2

Tests: CogAT, MAP

Source: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org ↗

Open district guide
VA / ACPS

Alexandria City Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 3

Tests: CogAT, NNAT, MAP, Rating scale

Source: www.acps.k12.va.us ↗

Referral window

Cycle 2026 27

Not yet published as of 2026-07-02 — the official AAS timeline table's referral-window/deadline/notification columns for 2026-27 were explicitly marked 'Dates coming soon'

Source: www.acps.k12.va.us ↗

Open district guide
VA / FCCPS

Falls Church City Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 2

Tests: NNAT, CogAT, SOL, Rating scale, External scores accepted

Source: www.fccps.org ↗

Testing

Referral Rules

Referrals for Level Two/Three can be submitted by families within one year of any previous screening (rolling, not a single window)

Source: www.fccps.org ↗

Testing

Initial Cohort

Identification for the initial Advanced Academics cohort historically occurs in June of second grade (consistent with the automatic Grade 2 CogAT → Grade 3 pipeline)

Source: www.fccps.org ↗

Appeals

Retest Restriction

Retesting with CogAT/NNAT3 barred for 6 months following a prior test; otherwise requires appeals-committee approval

Source: www.fccps.org ↗

Appeals

Appeal Window

Appeals must be filed within 10 working days of the placement-decision notification letter or they will not be considered

Source: www.fccps.org ↗

Open district guide
VA / PWCS

Prince William County Public Schools

Default grade: Grade 2

Tests: NNAT, CogAT

Source: www.pwcs.edu ↗

Referral window

Referral Window

No fixed annual window — referrals may be submitted at any grade K-12, any time during the school year

Source: www.pwcs.edu ↗

Testing

Testing Windows 2025 26

Division testing calendar: CogAT Online (Grade 3) Oct 22 – Nov 21, 2025; NNAT3 Online (Grades 2, 6, 9) Oct 22 – Nov 21, 2025. 2026-27 dates not yet posted as of 2026-07-02

Source: www.pwcs.edu ↗

Decision / placement

Identification Decision

Identification and Placement (IDP) Committee meets and decides within 90 school days of the date written parental permission for evaluation is received

Source: www.pwcs.edu ↗

Appeals

Appeals Window

10 instructional days from the date the family is notified of the IDP Committee's decision

Source: www.pwcs.edu ↗

Open district guide