Test guides / NNAT
NNAT-style practice for kindergarten to 5th grade
The NNAT uses only shapes and patterns, with no words or numbers, so it measures reasoning without relying on language. Many districts use it alongside or instead of the CogAT.
Key facts
| The test | 48 picture puzzles in 30 minutes. There is no reading and no talking: every question is shapes and colors. |
|---|---|
| What the puzzles look like | The easiest show a big picture with a piece missing. Harder ones are grids of shapes where the shape, color, size or turn changes across each row and down each column. |
| Colors | Only black, white, yellow, blue and green, so children who see colors differently can still read every puzzle. |
| Answer choices | 5 for every question. |
Question types
Pattern Completion
A big pattern has a missing piece. Your child picks the piece that completes it.
NonverbalReasoning by Analogy
Shapes change across a row in a rule-based way; your child finds the shape that follows the same change.
NonverbalSerial Reasoning
Shapes change step by step across rows and down columns, in grids of two rows of three or three rows of three; your child finds the one that fits the order.
NonverbalSpatial Visualization
Two figures are combined or a figure is folded; your child picks the result.
NNAT practice by grade
How to practice without pressure
- Two or three 15-minute sessions a week beat one long one.
- Familiarity is the goal: a child who has seen the formats is calmer on the day.
- Praise the thinking (“you checked every box!”), not the score.
- Stop while it's still fun.
GiftedCub practice is designed to help children feel familiar and comfortable with question formats. It is not the actual test, and no practice service can guarantee a score or placement.
NNAT® and OLSAT® are trademarks of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. These owners are not affiliated with and do not endorse GiftedCub. Test names are used only to describe the formats our original practice material is designed to resemble.