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The NNAT, explained for parents

The NNAT is a reasoning test made only of shapes. A child who is still learning English, or still learning to read, can show how they reason on it, which is why it is often given to young children.

At a glance

Full name
Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, 3rd edition
Published by
Pearson
Who sits it
US school districts, often for younger children and as a screener that does not depend on English.
What it is made of
Shapes only: no words in the questions or the directions. Each question is a pattern of shapes with a piece missing. About thirty minutes, at levels from kindergarten to grade 12.

What it asks

  • Every question is a pattern of shapes with a piece missing; the child picks the piece that completes it.
  • There are no words in the questions, and the directions are pictures too.
  • It measures general reasoning ability — Pearson calls it “a nonverbal measure of general ability”.

Levels, by grade

  • Level A for kindergarten, B for grade 1, C for grade 2, D for grades 3 and 4, E for grades 5 and 6, F for grades 7 to 9, and G for grades 10 to 12.
  • The kinds of question stay the same from level to level; the patterns get harder.

How long it takes

  • About 30 minutes of testing, and 35 to 45 minutes with directions, at the younger levels.

How much of the NNAT the puzzles here cover

Partly covered. Its questions are shape patterns, the format of the figure matrices here. The words and numbers sections are practice it does not test.

  • Figure Matrices

Every puzzle is original: none is a copy or an imitation of a real test question. See one of each kind.

Build the reasoning, not the test

Short, original puzzles with words, numbers and shapes. Your child answers, then names the rule.

Play free in your browser
Download Cub Climb: Gifted Test Prep on the App StoreAndroid: coming soon

Or print free reasoning worksheets, grades 3 to 8.

Sources

Last checked 11 October 2026. This page is general information, not advice: your school, district, board or area has the final word on its own tests and dates. Test names are trademarks of their publishers. Cub Climb is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any of them, or to any school or education department.