FAQ for Group Testing

We administer the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT-3). You may register your child for one or both assessments. We do not offer the NGAT.

We provide testing for students from any district, including private and home-schooled students.

Registration will be available in the months preceding the Fall/Winter testing dates and will be posted here. If you need to cancel or move your date after registering, please email us at cap@gmu.edu.

To ensure valid results, these tests may only be administered once every six months. During registration, you will be asked to verify that your child has not taken these tests within the last six months and will not take them again for another six months.

All assessments are administered via paper and pencil. Students in 1st and 2nd grade provide answers directly within their test booklets. Starting in 3rd grade, students use a standard answer sheet. Our trained proctors guide students through the process and provide active supervision to ensure all answer sheets are completed accurately.

Our proctors are graduate students in GMU’s School Psychology Program. They are formally trained, supervised by a Licensed School Psychologist, and dedicated to making the testing experience positive and low-stress for your child.

Parents stay in the building for the duration of the testing. We provide a waiting area, and the program director is available for questions.

We do not provide food or beverage services during testing. We strongly recommend sending a mid-morning snack and a drink with your child. They will have scheduled breaks with you to recharge. While some campus dining options may be open on Saturdays, bringing snacks from home is the most convenient way to ensure your child has what they need during their break.

We suggest bringing snacks and drinks from home. For weather-related closures, we follow the GMU Campus Policy. If the university is closed, testing is canceled. You can check the status at 703-993-1000.

The Cognitive Assessment Program follows the official George Mason University operating status. If the university campus is closed or delayed due to weather, testing will be canceled or rescheduled.

• How to check: Visit GMU.edu
• Notification: We will make every effort to email families as soon as a closure is confirmed.

You will receive a digital score report via email within 30 days of the test date. This will be in a password protected PDF document.

No. Parents are responsible for submitting test scores to FCPS or other school districts as part of their specific application process.

We use a rigorous, multi-step review process to ensure every student's performance is accurately captured:

• NNAT-3: These assessments are hand-scored twice by our trained staff.
• CogAT: These answer sheets are sent for professional scoring. However, before they are submitted, our team individually double-checks every sheet to ensure that each student’s intended responses are clearly and accurately reflected. This manual review ensures that no child is penalized for light "bubbling" or incomplete erasures that a machine might overlook.
• Final Review: As an added layer of quality assurance, all results undergo a final review by the Program Director to ensure the data is consistent and reliable.

• Standard Age Scores: These compare your child to a national average (usually 100). The higher the score is above 100, the further above average the performance.
• Percentile Rank: This shows how your child performed relative to other students in the same age/grade block in a normative sample of students across the United States. For example, the 75th percentile means your child scored higher than 75% of students in that age group in the normative sample.
• Age-Referenced Scoring: Scoring compares your child’s performance to a national sample in narrow three-month age blocks to ensure the comparison is fair and accurate.

Our role is strictly to provide high-quality testing. We do not make eligibility or placement decisions. All admissions decisions are made by school or district based committees.

Currently, the Naglieri General Abilities Test (NGAT) is only available for purchase by K-12 school districts. However, FCPS has confirmed they will continue to accept CogAT and NNAT-3 results from our program.

There are no set "cutoff" scores. FCPS uses a holistic review process that includes school progress reports, teacher observations, and multiple pieces of data. We recommend submitting your full score report to provide a complete picture of your child’s abilities.