2026-27 CogAT window
K, 1 and 5
Annual cycle
The current elementary testing calendar schedules CogAT for October 20-30. Ask the campus how universal consideration and parental permission connect to this window.
Verify with the district ↗Garland Independent School District parent navigator Last updated 09/09/2026
Gifted and Talented Education,
made navigable.
Garland ISD begins universal consideration in kindergarten and publishes 90th-percentile academic criteria plus a current testing calendar for gifted identification.
Independent from Garland Independent School District. Official district instructions always control.
TXlocal district program
2026-27school year reviewed
2official sources reviewed
2deadlines or checkpoints
When your family may need to act
The published timeline, in one place.
Use the row that matches your child's grade and situation. Dates below come from the linked district instructions; confirm them before submitting.
Annual data review and candidate recruitment
K-12
Annual cycle
District staff pull data and recruit potential candidates each January. Contact the campus before January to verify the current referral and consent steps for the child's grade.
Verify with the district ↗How Bloomfield Academy helps
Understand the program.
Manage the process.
Build the learner.
Use the Parent Guide free. Choose Navigator when you want the process managed around your child. Choose Mentor when you want to connect that local opportunity to a longer-term interest, real projects, and a private record of growth. Bloomfield turns Gifted and Talented Education into three clear layers of support.
01Parent GuideFree
Know what the program actually requires.
Get the local program name, grades, identification process, services, deadlines, parent steps, and official instructions—all in plain language.
02Navigator$79 / year
Turn the process into your family's plan.
Navigator adds a child-specific timeline, deadline and policy alerts, a guided checklist, and one place to organize forms, work samples, and questions for the school.
03Bloomfield Mentor$149 / year
Turn a future interest into work your child can do now.
Mentor includes Navigator plus a 12-week pathway, four short weekly challenges, one substantial monthly project, a Friday parent insight, and a private Growth Portfolio.
What the official record confirms
Know the program.
Know the route.
Applicable school year: 2026-27. Bloomfield separates official requirements from our preparation guidance.
Who and which grades
Published coverageK-12
How students are considered
Published processThe district begins universal consideration in kindergarten. Each January, staff reviews data, recruits candidates and seeks parent permission before campus teams evaluate students. Academic criteria include the 90th percentile or higher on a state-approved achievement test, the 90th percentile or higher on a state-approved ability test, and parent and teacher surveys.
What service can look like
Published modelAcademically gifted students receive differentiated instruction with greater depth and complexity at their current campus from trained teachers. Identification may be in mathematics and science, English language arts and social studies, or both. Separate talented art and music processes should not be confused with academic G/T identification.
Your family's route
See the next move—and where Bloomfield helps.
This plan translates the published process without changing it. Confirm current district instructions before submitting.
Your next moveAsk the campus G/T contact whether the child is included in universal consideration and whether a separate family referral is useful.
How Bloomfield helps
Adds the date and task to one family plan, with alerts before it becomes urgent.
Your next moveComplete parental permission and surveys promptly when the campus begins its January review.
How Bloomfield helps
Turns the district language into a short list of questions to confirm with your school.
Your next moveProvide specific observations of advanced mathematics, science, language arts or social-studies reasoning so the evidence matches the possible identification area.
How Bloomfield helps
Provides guided prompts and one private place to organize authentic examples and documents.
Your next moveRequest the exact ability and achievement tests, percentile results and parent and teacher survey ratings used by the campus team.
How Bloomfield helps
Tracks forms, confirmations, and any related enrollment or transfer step.
Your next moveCompare the quantitative results with the district's published 90th-percentile thresholds and request the written decision.
How Bloomfield helps
Keeps the decision, follow-up, and appeal questions together so the next move is clear.
Your next moveAfter placement, confirm the identified subject area, trained teacher and how depth and complexity will be delivered at the child's campus.
How Bloomfield helps
Keeps the decision, follow-up, and appeal questions together so the next move is clear.
Application support
Prepare the story before you open the form.
District forms and prompts vary. This annotated, fictional example shows how to turn a real observation into useful evidence without copying language or inventing accomplishments.
Explore the annotated example →Parent observationFictional example
What have you observed that shows your child may need greater depth, complexity, or pace?
“After her model failed, Maya changed one part at a time, recorded each result, and explained why the designs failed differently.”
01 Observable02 Child-led03 Need-focused
See why this works →Parent-to-parent
What would you tell another family?
Share practical, firsthand wisdom about Gifted and Talented Education. Parent experience is kept separate from the official program facts above.
Opening the parent discussion…
Trust is part of the product
District rules and Bloomfield guidance stay clearly separated.
The program facts above come from the linked official sources. Bloomfield's checklist translates those facts into practical next steps without predicting selection or presenting parent anecdotes as district policy.
Official requirement
Supported by the district links and applicable school year shown on this guide.
Bloomfield guidance
A plain-language explanation or constructive preparation recommendation.
Parent-reported insight
Shown only when it is dated, moderated, and clearly labeled—not as an official rule.
Primary sources
Read the published language yourself.
Last updated 09/09/2026. Program rules can change; verify the current school year with Garland Independent School District before acting.