NNAT Exams for NYC Gifted and Talented Admission is Baffling Parents

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - January 4th, 2013

The NNAT, or Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, which is used as an intelligence measure by New York City schools to determine if students should be admitted to gifted and talented programs is not only presenting challenges for the majority of 4 year olds that take the exam but for their parents as well.

The NNAT, which tests children’s understanding of spatial distribution, pattern recognition, and other visual reasoning skills, is an intelligence exam used by the NYC public school system. How kids score on the exam helps decide if they will be assigned one of the limited places within each school district’s gifted and talented program each year.

As parents throughout the city attempt to help their children prepare to take the NNAT, the city’s adults are finding out just how challenging this exam can be. Exam prep activities have many parents questioning their own intelligence, as they are challenged to think in terms they do not typically utilize in their everyday lives.

As implied by its name, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test is a non-verbal test, meaning that children work with visual and spatial concepts rather than things like vocabulary or word problems. Graphics or images are common on this test. Many parents find the format in itself difficult, since it can be challenging for people who are verbally rather than spatially inclined!

The good news is that, like so many other things, children and their parents get better at the NNAT with practice. That’s why it’s so important for children to practice the concepts that they will find on the Naglieri test, and also get familiar with the format and layout of questions that appear on the NNAT. With time and practice, even the most spatially challenged kids will find themselves improving dramatically on practice tests for the NNAT Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test.