Application Process

Thank you for considering the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet (Law Magnet) in your choice for high school.

THE PROCESS

The Law Magnet has a two-step application process. The first step is to follow the guidelines provided by Dallas ISD on eligibility. Once you have determined your eligibility complete the online application on Choose Dallas ISD.

After we receive the application, we determine eligibility to be assessed. You will receive an phone call, e-mail or text scheduling a date for assessments.

Law Magnet assessments Include four equally graded components: faculty interview, NNAT, impromptu essay and a creativity test. These are not listed in order. Students will be assigned a cohort when they arrive. The cohorts will be guided through their rotation by our student recruiting team members.

The Interview

The interview will be 5 minutes long and includes general questions about the student’s involvement in school and how they decided to choose the Law Magnet. The biggest part of the interview are questions about study habits and dealing with adversity.

The NNAT

The assessments include a 30-minute timed test (NNAT). Students will be assigned a school laptop to complete the NNAT. The NNAT (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test) is a nonverbal test that utilizes shapes and figures to evaluate problem-solving and reasoning abilities of a child without relying on their language skills. Sample questions can be found HERE.

The Creativity Test

We use the Guilford’s Alternative Uses Task (GAUT) for evaluating creativity. This is a timed 5-minute test. GAUT asks examinees to list as many possible uses for a common household item (such as s brick, a paperclip, a newspaper). Scoring is comprised of four components: originality, fluency (total), flexibility (i.e., different categories) elaboration - amount of detail.

Impromptu Essay

Students will be given 15 minutes to write an impromptu essay on a choice 2-3 prompts. One prompt we have used every year is. “Identify a problem in your community and how you would address it.” Students are not evaluated on gramma or punctuation, but instead on their ability to communicate a cogent set of ideas.

Please direct any questions to Mr. Don Gonzalez at dgonzale@dallasisd.org