NNAT: Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test

What the NNAT3 is

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Third Edition, is by Jack A. Naglieri and published by Pearson (Buros NNAT3 listing). Naglieri describes its aim as measuring how well students think without that being confounded by how much they know (Pearson NNAT3 infographic). The publisher's stated purpose is a nonverbal measure of general ability that also serves gifted identification, especially for underrepresented groups (Buros NNAT3 listing).

The test has a long lineage. The third edition launched in spring 2016 (Pearson NNAT3 FAQs). It revised the NNAT2 of 2007, which was based on the NNAT Multilevel Form of 1997, and the series began with Naglieri's Matrix Analogies Tests in 1985 (NNAT3 Manual A to D).

What the items look like

Every item shows a design with a missing section, and the student picks which of five options fills the gap (NNAT3 Manual A to D). The easiest items show one large rectangle with a piece missing; harder items use 2-by-2, 2-by-3 or 3-by-3 arrays of images (NNAT3 Manual A to D), much like the matrix puzzles used across nonverbal testing. The test uses only two colors, yellow and blue, so that students with minimal color vision impairments can take it (Pearson NNAT3 brochure).

Levels, timing and scoring

Sources: Pearson's product page and manuals (Pearson: NNAT3) (NNAT3 Manual A to D) (NNAT3 Manual E to G). The level is chosen by grade, but the norms are based on age (NNAT3 Manual A to D). Pearson sets the test at qualification level B (Pearson: NNAT3).

Note the standard deviation. Because the NAI uses 16 rather than 15, the same percentile prints as a slightly different number than on a Wechsler-style scale. About 68% of students in the norm sample score between 84 and 116 and about 95% between 68 and 132 (NNAT3 Manual A to D). To compare scales, use the percentile calculator, which handles SD 16.

A power test, not a speed test

Pearson calls the NNAT a power test and reports that students given extra time on the NNAT2 did not score higher (NNAT3 Manual A to D). That sets it apart from workplace tests such as the CCAT, where speed is the point.

Norms and reliability

The lower-level norms were updated in 2018 with a sample of 85,959 students aged 4 to 11 (NNAT3 Manual A to D). For Levels A to D the manual reports mean reliabilities of .85 for each form, and for Levels E to G internal consistency ranges from .81 in grade 5 to .89 in grades 11 and 12 (NNAT3 Manual A to D) (NNAT3 Manual E to G). Pearson has announced new norms for the 2026 to 2027 school year, with no change to the test forms; schools can choose the new or the previous norms (Pearson NNAT3 New Norms FAQ), so check which set a score report uses.

How schools use it, and what research says

Schools typically give the NNAT3 once or twice a year, usually in the fall and early spring (Pearson NNAT3 FAQs), often to screen for gifted programs. Research on nonverbal tests in that role is mixed and worth knowing:

• A 2008 study gave the Raven, an earlier NNAT and CogAT Form 6 to 1,198 elementary children. It found norming problems that led the NNAT to overestimate both high and low scorers, a standard error of measurement twice that of the Raven or CogAT, and that none of the three nonverbal tests predicted achievement very well for English learners (Lohman, Korb and Lakin 2008). It predates the NNAT3.
• A 2010 study co-authored by Naglieri found moderate concurrent and predictive validity for math and reading in Italian third and fifth graders, independent of sociocultural level (Balboni, Naglieri and Cubelli 2010).

The comparison with the CogAT, the other common screener, is laid out in CogAT vs NNAT.

How to prepare a child

Familiarity with the format is the sensible goal: knowing what a missing-piece design looks like and that there are five options. Our nonverbal reasoning practice test and the easy matrix puzzles use the same kind of reasoning with original items; they are not NNAT items and do not predict an NNAT score. Pearson does not recommend the test for pre-K children because it is generally too difficult for them (Pearson NNAT3 FAQs).

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