The NGAT in Fairfax County: A Parent's Guide to Naglieri Gifted Screening
What the Naglieri General Ability Tests measure, how they fit into FCPS Advanced Academic Programs screening, and how to prepare calmly without turning practice into pressure.
Jump to section
What the NGAT is
NGAT stands for the Naglieri General Ability Tests. It's a test of general reasoning ability — how a child thinks and solves new problems — developed by Jack A. Naglieri, Dina Brulles, and Kimberly Lansdowne and published by Multi-Health Systems (MHS).
The key word is ability, not achievement. An achievement test asks what your child has already learned. An ability test like the NGAT tries to measure reasoning that does not depend as heavily on what has been taught: pattern-finding, relationships, and logic.
A deliberate design choice runs through all three areas: the test is built to reduce the load of language and acquired knowledge. Instructions are delivered through short animated videos rather than spoken or written directions, and answers are multiple-choice.
Read the full explainer →The three reasoning areas
The NGAT is a small family of tests covering three reasoning areas. A school may use one or more of them.
Verbal (picture-based)
The child looks at a set of pictures and figures out the concept that connects them, or the one that does not belong. Notably, it uses pictures rather than words, so it leans less on reading.
Nonverbal
The child studies shapes, colors, sequences, and orientations in a pattern and picks the piece that completes it.
Quantitative
The child finds the pattern in a series of numbers or symbols using basic math reasoning.
How it's scored
Your child's raw score is converted into a standard score with an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.
Scores are also reported as a percentile rank (1 to 99) and a stanine (a simplified 1-to-9 band). The percentile is the number most parents find easiest to read: a percentile of 90 means the child scored as high as or higher than 90 out of 100 students who took the same test.
Important: the NGAT does not decide on its own whether a child is "gifted." A score is one piece of a larger picture. Each district sets its own thresholds and combines the ability score with other information.
How the NGAT fits FCPS gifted/AAP screening
In Fairfax County, the NGAT is one of several measures FCPS considers when screening students for its Advanced Academic Programs (AAP). An ability score like the NGAT is used alongside other information — it is one piece of a larger picture, not a single decision point. FCPS sets the specific testing windows, grade levels, and screening criteria for each school year, and those details can change year to year, so always confirm the current specifics on FCPS's official Advanced Academic Programs and abilities-testing pages.
For 2025-26, FCPS says it uses the NGAT to meet Virginia's nationally normed ability-assessment requirement, with administration in grade 2 and select grades 3-7. FCPS also says NGAT replaced CogAT and NNAT3, and that FCPS no longer offers CogAT or NNAT3 retakes.
FCPS describes Full-Time AAP pathways that include a grade-2 universal screener referral, staff referral, and family referral for grades 2-7. FCPS says screening files may include referral forms, progress reports, work samples, the HOPE Gifted Rating Scale, a parent or guardian questionnaire, and test scores, and FCPS says no part is weighted more heavily.
If your child is being screened, the most useful things you can do are practical: make sure they're rested and fed on test day, and help them feel calm and familiar with the kinds of puzzles the test uses — which is exactly what the free practice below is for.
Is FCPS getting rid of the NGAT?
As of the last source check on July 1, 2026, the official FCPS pages reviewed here still list the NGAT for the 2025-26 AAP process. No official FCPS page reviewed for this update stated that NGAT is being eliminated for 2026-27.
Treat claims about future-year elimination as unconfirmed unless FCPS posts it. Future-year rules, testing windows, and screening criteria are district decisions, so confirm current details on FCPS's AAP and abilities-testing pages before acting.
How to prepare — calmly
There are no "leaked" NGAT questions to memorize, and you would not want them — the goal is for your child to walk in calm and unsurprised by the format.
You cannot and should not try to "teach the test." Ability tests are designed to measure reasoning, and drilling a child on leaked items does not build that reasoning — it just adds stress.
What genuinely helps is familiarity and calm: making sure your child has seen the format before, practicing the kinds of thinking the test rewards through everyday puzzles and games, and showing up rested and relaxed.
Control the preparation, not the policy.
You cannot control whether FCPS changes a future-year screening process, and you should not build a plan around rumor or a single score. You can control whether your child walks in rested, calm, and familiar with reasoning-puzzle formats.
- Use short sessions rather than long drilling blocks.
- Practice original sample items and reasoning games, not leaked test content.
- Keep the message steady: this is a chance to solve puzzles, not a verdict on the child.
NGAT vs CogAT, NNAT & OLSAT
All four are reasoning/ability tests used in gifted screening. The most useful thing is to practice the format your district actually uses.
| Test | Publisher | Measures | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGAT | MHS (Naglieri) | Verbal (picture), Nonverbal, Quantitative | Reduced-language, animated instructions |
| CogAT | Riverside Insights | Verbal, Quantitative, Nonverbal batteries (9 subtests) | SAS score (mean 100, SD 16); widely used |
| NNAT | Pearson | Nonverbal reasoning only (matrices/patterns) | Language-reduced, single battery |
| OLSAT | Pearson | Verbal & nonverbal reasoning (incl. quantitative) | Often paired with other measures |
Not sure which test your district uses? Start with our NGAT vs CogAT guide → and the CogAT guide →.
Free NGAT practice
Use these resources for short, low-pressure format familiarity.
Free NGAT practice test →
Twenty-four original NGAT-style items with worked answers and a direct PDF download.
Original itemsNGAT sample questions →
Twelve original NGAT-style reasoning items with worked answers.
ScoresNGAT scores explained →
Standard scores, percentiles, stanines, and how districts use the numbers.
DistrictsNGAT district tracker →
Strict official-source rows for districts that publicly name NGAT use.
Interactive labOpen the Practice Lab →
Figure-matrix, spatial, pattern, and reasoning puzzles with calm feedback.
Printable: NGAT Parent Prep Checklist
The calm approach
The full checklist is right here — free to read and print. You can also request a printable PDF through the form below.
Get the NGAT Parent Prep Checklist
Get the printable checklist and free sample pack. No subscription trap.
Or download it directly →Naglieri General Ability Tests™ (NGAT) is a trademark of Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS), used here for identification purposes only. Reasonwell Press is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or licensed by MHS or Dr. Jack Naglieri, and MHS was not involved in producing our materials. Our practice materials are original NGAT-style items, not actual test questions, and do not guarantee any score or placement outcome.
Reasonwell Press is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by MHS, Dr. Jack Naglieri, or Fairfax County Public Schools. FCPS is mentioned descriptively and sourced for parent context.
July 1, 2026
Last checked: July 1, 2026.
District pages can change. Before making placement, appeal, or application decisions, confirm the current FCPS AAP and abilities-testing details on the official FCPS pages or with your school.
Frequently asked
Is the NGAT an IQ test?
It's a test of general reasoning ability used for gifted screening, not a clinical IQ test. It reports a standard score on the familiar 100-average scale.
Can you study for the NGAT?
You can build calm familiarity with the question formats, which helps a child show what they can do. You can't and shouldn't drill real test items — and there's no benefit to trying.
What NGAT score does FCPS require for AAP?
FCPS uses the NGAT as one of several measures and sets its own screening criteria each year — there isn't a single public cutoff that decides placement by itself. Check FCPS's Advanced Academic Programs pages for current details.
When does FCPS give the NGAT?
Testing windows and grade levels are set by FCPS each school year and can change — confirm the current calendar on FCPS's official assessment pages.
Is the NGAT the same as the CogAT?
No — they're different tests from different publishers (NGAT from MHS, CogAT from Riverside Insights) with different formats and score scales, though they measure overlapping reasoning skills.
Sources
- Naglieri General Ability Tests — Multi-Health Systems (MHS), publisher
- Naglieri General Ability Tests — official site (format, scoring)
- FCPS — Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)
- FCPS — Full-Time AAP screening process
- FCPS — NGAT Abilities Test Information (adoption, grades tested)
- FCPS — NGAT Score Report (standard score, percentiles)