NYC Gifted and Talented Program and Testing

Ready to prep? Here are some test prep tips for the OLSAT and NNAT-2 tests!

The purpose of preparing your child for the NYC G&T test to give you a general idea of your child’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to the different types of questions that will be asked on the actual tests. Here are a few tips to take into consideration while your prepare.

• Seat your child comfortably at a desk where he can work. The room should be well lit. Make sure he isn’t hungry, tired, or missing out on his favorite TV show.  Don’t describe what you’re doing as a test or assessment.  Just refer to these as “brain games” where you’ll get to do some fun, practice school activities.
• BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO PRACTICE QUESTIONS: Sign-up for free practice questions from the TestingMom.com website.   Go through this entire instrument without telling your child whether his answers are correct. This instrument is for your benefit only – first, to show you where your child needs help and then to show you the progress he has made.
• Give your child a break between different sets of questions if that is needed. Remember, with the Pre-Assessment your goal is to find out which types of activities your child does well and which present a challenge for him.  Once you understand his strengths and weaknesses, you can work on the areas that are hard for him.  The actual OLSAT test has 30 questions and the NNAT-2 has 48 questions for a total of 78 questions.  The Assessments have 45 – 60 questions each.   Don’t get frustrated if you need extra time to get through all the material, especially when doing the Pre-Assessment (before your child has built up any “test stamina”).
• Based on how your child does, you will know which types of questions to focus your efforts on when preparing. Work with your child over a period of time using the practice questions and games on the TestingMom.com website.
• For the Assessments, whether your child is applying to kindergarten or 1^st grade, he should attempt to answer the first 15 questions in each section. If your child is applying to 2^nd or 3^rd grade, he should attempt to answer all 20 questions in each section.  [Questions generally go from easy to harder.]
• between the 1^st and 2^nd set of scores will vary depending on how much practice you have done with your child and how well she has mastered the concepts.
• Your goal is to see significant improvement between the two sets of scores your child earns doing the Pre-Assessment (without preparation)…and the Post-Assessment (with preparation).