Why is the IQ Test NNAT becoming More Common?

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - September 12th, 2012

The Naglieri Non-Verbal Abilities Test, or IQ Test NNAT, assesses intelligence without requiring speaking, reading or writing skills. Instead, it presents visual problems and graphics to children and requires them to solve those problems without words.

Because of the test’s format, which presents the test-taker with visual puzzles and diagrams, the IQ Test NNAT is often considered to be a more fair assessment of children’s’ intelligence no matter individual background, circumstances or other factors. Unlike other common IQ tests, the NNAT shows more promise when it comes to overall fairness; with children from all demographic scoring equally well on the exam.

The “fairness factor” is one of the biggest reasons the IQ Test NNAT is becoming so much more common in so many school districts. The belief that the IQ Test NNAT is more accurate in truly measuring intelligence is also a major factor. Of course, the two are intimately tied to one another as well, considering that the test is designed to measure true intelligence no matter if a child speaks English or another language, has or has not had exposure to test question formats in advance, or has or has not had parents and others in their lives invest a lot of time in helping them learn vocabulary or other language-skill oriented thought processes.