Is my child gifted?
What schools actually look at, what the scores mean, and how to help your child walk in relaxed.
Gifted is a school decision, not a label from one test
Schools identify children for gifted programs, and each district sets its own rules. Most use several sources together: a reasoning test given to the whole class or to referred children, teacher observations, classroom work, and sometimes a parent questionnaire. Professional guidance from gifted-education bodies is clear that no single score should decide.
So the useful question is rarely "is my child gifted?" but "would my child thrive with more challenge, and how does our school decide?"
The tests schools use
In the US the most common screenings are CogAT (verbal, quantitative and nonverbal reasoning), NNAT (nonverbal patterns only) and OLSAT (verbal and nonverbal reasoning). For kindergarten to 2nd grade they are almost entirely pictures, and an adult reads the directions aloud. In the UK, CAT4 and the 11+ play a similar role for older children.
These are reasoning tests, not knowledge tests. They ask children to spot patterns, see how pictures relate, compare amounts and imagine shapes moving or folding.
What the scores mean
Results usually come as an age percentile: a 90th percentile means the child scored higher than about 90 out of 100 children of the same age. It is not the share of questions answered correctly, which is the most common misreading.
Many programs set a cut-off between the 90th and the 98th percentile. Scores for young children move noticeably from one testing day to the next, so a result near a cut-off says less than it seems.
Signs parents often notice
Early, deep curiosity; asking why, then why again; an unusual memory for details; spotting patterns in numbers, music or language; long focus on things they love; a big vocabulary or a dry sense of humour. Many children show some of these. They are reasons to talk with the teacher, not proof of anything.
Should you practise?
Some districts discourage preparing for these screenings, and some ask families not to. Check your school's guidance first. Where practice is allowed, the honest benefit is familiarity: a child who has seen a picture grid before is less likely to freeze at an unfamiliar format.
Keep it short and playful, stop when your child tires, and never turn a score into a judgement about your child.
When to see a psychologist
If your child seems far ahead or far behind, is unhappy at school, or a placement decision depends on it, a qualified psychologist can give an individual assessment and talk the results through with you. No online test, ours included, can replace that.