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The Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test (NNAT) is one of the tests used as a screen for gifted program entry.
There are seven different levels of the NNAT for administration from Kindergarten to Gr 12. Preschool children can be tested using the Kindergarten level test. Four different types of questions are included in the tests. The number of each type at the different grade levels is shown below. It’s a short test and usually takes only 30 minutes to administer.
|
Level |
Grade |
Pattern Completion |
Reasoning by Analogy |
Serial Reasoning |
Spatial Visualization |
Total |
|
A |
K |
30 |
8 |
|
|
38 |
|
B |
1 |
19 |
13 |
6 |
|
38 |
|
C |
2 |
10 |
12 |
11 |
5 |
38 |
|
D |
3-4 |
6 |
10 |
8 |
14 |
38 |
|
E |
5-6 |
5 |
6 |
8 |
19 |
38 |
|
F |
7-9 |
2 |
10 |
8 |
18 |
38 |
|
G |
10-12 |
|
7 |
7 |
24 |
38 |
Pattern Completion
Pattern completion are among easiest of the types of matrices used in the test. This explains why more of them are included in lower levels of the test. Pattern completion items require a student to look at a design in a large rectangle with a portion missing and determine which of the choices correctly completes the pattern.
Reasoning by Analogy
These items are created so that a student has to recognize a logical relationship between several geometric shapes. To determine which answer is correct the student must see how objects change as one moves across rows and down the columns in the design. The items also require that students pay careful attention to the details of the design and work with more than one dimension (shape and shading) simultaneously. Reasoning by Analogy becomes more difficult as the logic increases in complexity and number of dimensions involved.
Serial Reasoning
The items in Serial Reasoning matrices are constructed using a series of shapes that change across the row horizontally and the columns vertically through the design. The figure above shows an example where the circle-triangle-square sequence is presented in stages down the rows. As the design moves down the matrix it also moves one position to the right, creating a series of designs that changes over the matrix. These items demand that the child recognize the sequence of shapes and figure out that the sequence appears on the lower rows with a different starting point
Spatial Visualization
Spatial visualization items are among the most difficult questions on the NNAT, especially when involving shapes that intersect in ways that are difficult to recognize or involve rotation. These questions require the student to recognize how two or more designs would look if combined.
Recommendations
The NNAT is referred to as a matrix reasoning test because of the format in which the questions are presented. Similar types of analysis can be taught, and tested, using different formats. The figural analysis sections of Building Thinking Skills has chapters teaching the skills tested for in the NNAT. This is my number one recommendation for test preparation. After that I can offer products which work on associated skills like visual perception which may aid a child in performing at the optimum level. You can view my suggestions by choosing your child's grade level above.
Here's one final problem to try (in the actual test you're not told which quesitons test which non-verbal reasoning skill)
In this example, the child has to understand that the three shapes form a pattern throughout the three-by-three matrix. The circle forms a diagonal line from the bottom right to the top left. The triangles and the squares form their own alternating pattern; once the child understands it, he or she can choose the correct option (no. 2).
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