AIG testing in North Carolina: how gifted identification works

In North Carolina, gifted programs are called AIG: Academically or Intellectually Gifted. State law requires every district to have an AIG plan, but each district writes its own, so the test, the grade and the cutoff all depend on where you live. The good news is that most of the districts we researched follow a similar pattern, which this guide explains.

What the state requires

North Carolina law (G.S. 115C-150.7) requires every local board of education to adopt an AIG plan with screening, identification and placement procedures and a statement of services. Tests, grades and cutoffs are set in each district's plan.

The usual pattern

Of the 21 North Carolina districts we have researched, 17 use the CogAT. Most follow these steps:

1. Universal screening. Every child in one grade takes an ability test, usually the CogAT. Nine of the districts we researched screen all 2nd graders with it, and six screen all 3rd graders.
2. A screening bar. Children above a first cutoff go on to the next step. In Wake County, the 85th percentile on the CogAT composite or any battery leads to the Iowa Assessments. In Guilford County, the bar is the 70th percentile.
3. Achievement testing. Many districts add an achievement test (the Iowa Assessments are common) or use state test scores.
4. Identification. A child is identified in one or more areas: AI (reading and math), AR (reading), AM (math), AG (achievement) or IG (intellectually gifted, from aptitude).

Examples of cutoffs

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg screens every 2nd grader with the CogAT, an achievement test and a teacher rating scale, and uses a points rubric. A CogAT overall composite at the 96th–99th percentile alone meets the threshold for AI identification.
• Wake County: IG needs the 95th percentile or higher on a nationally normed ability test.
• Guilford County: IG needs a composite at the 98th percentile or higher.
• Durham: any CogAT subscore or composite at the 89th percentile or higher is an automatic referral; IG needs the 96th.
• Chapel Hill-Carrboro refers every 3rd grader automatically for the CogAT, followed by TerraNova reading and math.
• New Hanover County gives every 3rd grader the CogAT; the 90th percentile or the top 10% at the school joins the Talent Pool.

A few districts use other tests: Cabarrus County gives every 2nd grader the NNAT3, and Pitt County uses the Naglieri General Ability Tests at the end of 2nd grade (see Naglieri scores explained).

How to prepare

1. Find out when your district screens. If it is 2nd grade, see our 2nd grade CogAT guide; if 3rd, the 3rd grade guide. The 3rd grade CogAT is timed and needs reading, which is a big change.
2. Practice the formats a little. Short sessions over a few weeks are enough to make each question type familiar.
3. Remember achievement counts. Most AIG plans combine aptitude and achievement, so steady reading and math matter as much as the CogAT.

Find your district

North Carolina has more than 100 school districts. Our district pages show the screening grade, test, cutoffs and sources for each one we have researched, and the state rules for the rest.

Free ways to practice

• The free sample quiz shows CogAT®-style questions for 2nd grade.
• Our printables include free CogAT-style packs for kindergarten to 5th grade.
• A free readiness check shows which question types are new or harder for your child. It is a practice estimate, not an AIG result.

CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC. NNAT® is a trademark of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. OLSAT® is a registered trademark and Naglieri General Ability Tests™ a trademark of Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS). These owners are not affiliated with and do not endorse GiftedCub. Test names are used only to describe the formats our original practice material is designed to resemble.