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Magnet Eligibility (Applying for 2027-2028 School Year)
Admission into a Dallas ISD Magnet school requires students to apply online at Discover Dallas ISD. Students may select up to 5 choice schools with a limit of 2 magnet schools. Students will need to rank schools from 1 – 5, with 1 being the highest (most desired). Ranking schools when applying is crucial, because the system will attempt to place the student at the highest ranked “Eligible” school, first. Any school with a lower ranking than the offer received will automatically be rejected by the system. The student will remain on the wait list for any school ranked higher than the school offer received.
Students applying to a magnet program must meet eligibility requirements. Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements below (minimum grade average and minimum test scores) are eligible to move forward to the on-campus assessment process, scheduled at the selected magnet school(s) of choice.
Standardized Test Eligibility for students applying for the 2026-2027 school year
Any of the following sets of Reading and Math tests are acceptable for Dallas ISD students:
- Spring 2026 STAAR Reading and Math
- 2025-2026 End of the Year (EOY) i-Ready Reading and Math
- 2026-2027 Beginning of the Year (BOY) i-Ready Reading and Math
- 2026-2027 Middle of the Year or Winter (MOY) i-Ready Reading and Math
Students who do not have Dallas ISD test scores can provide scores from the approved test list below:
- ARK Academics
- Diagnostic Online Reading/Adaptive Diagnostic Assessment Math
- ERB/EMA merger CTP 5 Reading/Math
- Iowa Assessments / ITBS (Reading / Math)
- i-Ready® Inform
- Logramos (Lectura / Mathematicas)
- SAT, PSAT 8/9, PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10
- Savvas Momentum
- Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition
- STAR (Reading and Math) / Fastbridge
- TerraNova Thrid Edition / LAS Links / PreLAS
- Texas MAP Growth (Reading / Math) / NWEA
- The ACT
- Thrive Academics Performance Series
Students without a STAAR, MAP, i-Ready or other approved test scores and not enrolled at a Dallas ISD school can contact the magnet school of choice to schedule a test date. There is a $100 test fee for students residing outside the Dallas ISD boundaries.
Once test scores have been submitted and applications have been deemed "Eligible," additional test score submissions will not be considered.
Magnet Assessment
Applicants who meet the minimum GPA and test score requirementsand are deemed "Eligible" will move forward to the on-campus assessment process. The on-campus assessment will be scheduled by the selected magnet schools. Applicants will be notified of the scheduled assessment date via e-mail sent to the parent e-mail provided on the application.
For students applying to a magnet school with NNAT3 as part of the on-campus assessment process:
The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test® (NNAT®3) is used as an assessment tool for Gifted/Talented identification and assessment. If your child is tested for the NNAT3 during the identification process for Gifted and Talented at the enrolled school, the score will be used for any magnet school applications submitted for applying to the 2027-2028 school year. Students will not be allowed additional NNAT3 testing opportunities as part of the magnet assessment.