Skip To Main Content

Gifted & Talented Education (GATE)

On this page

Overview of the GATE Program

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) – OLSAT Testing 2025–2026

Fall GATE Testing for 3rd–8th grade: see the fall testing schedule below.
Spring GATE Testing for 2nd–7th grade: see the spring testing schedule below.

There are three ways to qualify for GATE in Jefferson Elementary School District:

  1. Earn a qualifying score on the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT)
  2. Meet the district CAASPP score criteria
  3. Teacher recommendation / portfolio process

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) testing is open to 2nd through 8th graders who have not taken the OLSAT 8 in the past three years. Please note: 2nd grade students are only eligible to test in the spring in preparation for eligibility moving into third grade.

Jefferson Elementary School District provides 2nd–8th grade students the opportunity to participate in an assessment used for identifying GATE students. Currently, the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, Eighth Edition (OLSAT-8) is available two times each school year: Fall and Spring. The testing schedule can be found below for each school site.

Parents are responsible for student transportation if participating in the after-school test. Digital notification via ParentSquare will be sent out to parents prior to an upcoming test to register for upcoming GATE testing.

Fall Testing Schedule (2025)

The Fall GATE Test Application (opens in new tab) must be completed and submitted by October 10, 2025.

  • Jefferson: TBD
  • Monticello: October 30, 2025 (3rd grade at 2:15 PM in Cafeteria; 4th grade at 3:10 PM in Gym)
  • Tom Hawkins: October 22, 2025 (3rd grade at 2:05 PM in Room 4; 4th–5th grade at 3:10 PM in Room 4; 6th–8th grade at 3:10 PM in Room 21)
  • Anthony Traina: October 28, 2025 (3rd grade at 2:15 PM; 4th–8th grade at 3:15 PM in Room F15)
  • Corral Hollow: November 7, 2025 (3rd grade at 2:15 PM; 4th–8th grade at 3:15 PM in Room F04)

Spring Testing Schedule

The application must be completed and returned to the school office by: March (TBD).

  • Jefferson: TBD
  • Tom Hawkins: TBD
  • Anthony Traina: TBD
  • Corral Hollow: TBD

Once all applications are received, parents/guardians will be contacted and provided the time of testing and the classroom to report to.

Questions? Please contact Student Services:
Scott Andrews — 209-836-3388 — sandrews@jsdtracy.com

2nd Grade Testing (Spring Only)

The OLSAT-8 is a nationally standardized, norm-referenced, group-administered measure of verbal and non-verbal school abilities. It is a multiple-choice test that lasts approximately 60 minutes. The areas measured include:

  • Verbal Comprehension: understanding of language; similarities and differences among words
  • Verbal Reasoning: using language to infer, apply, and classify
  • Pictorial Reasoning: inferring from and evaluating pictures
  • Figural Reasoning: reasoning involving geometric shapes

Program Design

Students identified for GATE services are provided with educational opportunities to realize their full potential. The district philosophy and plan is to make program services an integral part of the school day, every day. The district believes that all students must be provided a challenging curriculum aligned with state standards and frameworks and allows students to meet and exceed the state academic content standards.

The district’s program design centers around the principles of differentiated instruction to meet the intellectual, academic, social, and emotional needs of all students. Teachers strive for depth, complexity, novelty, and acceleration in daily instruction. Teachers ensure that students are able to understand, apply, and extend beyond the standard(s), and they use instructional strategies needed to meet individual student needs.

California Association for the Gifted: cagifted.org (opens in new tab)

GATE Plan

Coming Soon!

GATE – OLSAT Testing

Coming Soon!

Back to top