CogAT vs NNAT vs OLSAT vs Naglieri: which gifted test will my child take?

Parents rarely get to choose a gifted test. The school district picks one, and it is often named only in a gifted plan or a letter home. This guide compares the four tests US schools use most for gifted screening in kindergarten to 5th grade, so you know what each one asks of your child.

Side by side

The CogAT

The Cognitive Abilities Test has three parts, called batteries, each made of three kinds of question:

• Verbal: analogies, classification and sentence completion. In kindergarten to 2nd grade these are pictures, and the teacher reads the sentence completion questions aloud.
• Quantitative: number analogies, number puzzles and number series. Young children count objects and beads; older children work with written numbers.
• Nonverbal: figure matrices, figure classification and paper folding.

From 3rd grade children read words and numbers, and each part is timed. Because the CogAT covers three kinds of reasoning, a child can be strong in one battery and average in another, and some districts accept a high score in any one of them. See our CogAT guide for every question type with examples.

The NNAT

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test uses only shapes, colors and patterns. A typical question shows a large pattern with a piece missing and asks which piece completes it. Later levels add shapes that change step by step across rows and figures that are combined or folded.

Because no language is needed, districts use the NNAT to give children who are still learning English, or who are not yet reading, a fair look. Its main score, the Naglieri Ability Index, runs from 50 to 160 with 100 in the middle. See the NNAT guide.

The OLSAT

The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test covers verbal, nonverbal and quantitative reasoning. In kindergarten to 2nd grade the examiner reads each question aloud just once, and children answer by choosing one of four pictures. A child who drifts for a second can miss the whole question, so careful listening is a real skill here. From 3rd grade children read the questions themselves. See the OLSAT guide.

The Naglieri General Ability Tests

The newest of the four is three separate short tests, Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal, taken online. Directions are animated and use no words. The Verbal test shows six pictures and asks which one does not share an idea with the rest, so it measures word knowledge without any reading. See the Naglieri guide.

Which test do most districts use?

Of the 168 districts in our directory whose published plans name a specific ability test, 143 name the CogAT, 20 the NNAT, 15 the Naglieri General Ability Tests and 4 the OLSAT. Fourteen name more than one.

Grade 2 is the most common screening year: 110 of those districts test every 2nd grader. You can look up your own district on our district pages.

Can I compare scores across tests?

Not directly. Each test is normed on its own sample and asks different kinds of questions. A child who is a strong reader may do better on the CogAT verbal battery than on the NNAT; a child who thinks in pictures may do the reverse. A 95th percentile on one test does not mean a 95th percentile on another. Districts set their cutoffs for the test they give, so compare your child's result only with the rule written for that test.

How to prepare when you do not know the test

Start by asking the school which test it uses, in which grade, and when. If you cannot find out yet, the overlap between the four tests is large:

• Patterns and matrices appear on all four. A grid of shapes with a missing box is the single most common question style.
• Analogies and odd-one-out questions appear in pictures or words on the CogAT, OLSAT and Naglieri.
• Counting and number patterns appear on the CogAT, OLSAT and Naglieri.
• Listening once and acting matters most on the OLSAT and the CogAT sentence completion questions.

Short, regular practice with these formats helps a child recognize what is being asked on test day. Our activities guide has screen-free games for each one, and the free sample quiz shows real question types from all four tests.

CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC. NNAT® and OLSAT® are trademarks of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. Naglieri General Ability Tests™ is a trademark of Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS). These owners are not affiliated with and do not endorse GiftedCub.