By The OpenKidsPrep Editorial Team
Preparing a five-year-old for a gifted screening test is different from any other kind of academic prep. There are no words to read, no math facts to memorize, and no way to "teach to the test" in the traditional sense. What you can do — and what genuinely helps — is build the visual reasoning instincts that the NNAT measures. This guide tells you exactly how.
NNAT Level A vs Level B: What Changes for Kindergartners
The NNAT is divided into seven levels (A through G). Most kindergartners take Level A, which is designed for children ages 4.11 to 5.10. Children testing at the beginning of first grade typically take Level B.
The practical differences between the two levels matter for prep:
Level A (Kindergarten, ~age 5)
48 questions. Heavily focused on Pattern Completion — filling the missing piece of a shape or picture. A few Reasoning by Analogy questions appear in a very simplified form. Serial Reasoning questions are minimal and use only 2–3 element patterns. Spatial Visualization does not appear at Level A.
Level B (Grade 1, ~age 6)
Also 48 questions, but the question type distribution shifts. Pattern Completion remains present but is joined by more Serial Reasoning questions and fuller Reasoning by Analogy items. The patterns become more complex, introducing multi-attribute changes across rows and columns.
If your child is testing for a kindergarten gifted program, focus your prep on Pattern Completion and gentle introduction to visual analogies. If your child is testing mid-way through kindergarten for a Grade 1 gifted placement, start introducing 3×3 matrix puzzles as well.
The 4 Question Types Your Child Will See
At kindergarten age, the NNAT draws on four fundamental visual skills. Here is what each one looks like for a five-year-old:
1. Pattern Completion
A large shape or design has one section replaced with a blank rectangle. The child chooses which of five answer options correctly fills the blank to complete the overall pattern. Think of it like a puzzle piece — but the "puzzle" is made entirely of geometric shapes, not pictures of objects.
2. Reasoning by Analogy (simplified)
A 2×2 grid where three cells are filled and one is empty. The relationship between the top-left and top-right shapes must be applied to find what goes in the bottom-right. At Level A, these relationships are very simple: a circle gets bigger, a square changes color, or a triangle flips.
3. Serial Reasoning (basic)
A row or sequence of shapes follows a rule — for example, alternating colors, or growing in size left to right. The child must identify what comes next in the sequence. At Level A, sequences are short and involve only one changing attribute at a time.
4. Spatial Visualization (minimal at this level)
Mental manipulation of shapes — rotating, folding, or combining them. This type is rare or absent at Level A but is good to introduce gently so your child is not surprised if they encounter a simpler version.
Why This Is Hard for Five-Year-Olds
Parents are sometimes puzzled when their clearly bright child struggles with the NNAT at this age. The reasons have nothing to do with intelligence:
- No words to anchor thinking. Everything on the test is visual. Children who are naturally verbal learners cannot use their strengths here — they have to work from pure visual intuition.
- Timed conditions are unfamiliar. Kindergartners rarely experience formal timed tasks. Having to work quickly through 48 questions in about 30 minutes is genuinely new for most five-year-olds.
- The test environment. Sitting with other children, following a proctor's instructions, and marking answers in a specific format (pointing to or circling) all add cognitive load on top of the actual questions.
- Abstract patterns with no real-world referent. The NNAT uses geometric shapes, not animals or familiar objects. Children who are good at visual puzzles in everyday life may still find it jarring that none of the shapes "mean" anything.
Understanding these challenges helps you calibrate your prep. The goal is not to make your child a test-taking machine — it is to make visual pattern thinking feel natural and comfortable before test day.
What to Practice at Home (10 Minutes a Day)
The most effective at-home preparation involves hands-on activities that build the same mental skills the NNAT tests — ideally in a playful, low-pressure way:
- Jigsaw puzzles. Start with 24-piece puzzles and work up to 48–60 pieces. Puzzles build spatial recognition and the ability to mentally "fit" a shape into a space — which is exactly what Pattern Completion requires. Aim for 10 minutes of puzzle time per day.
- Pattern block sets. These wooden or foam sets of geometric shapes (hexagons, triangles, rhombuses, etc.) are excellent for building spontaneous spatial reasoning. Ask your child to copy a pattern you create, or to extend a sequence you start.
- Simple matrix puzzles. Draw a 2×2 grid on paper. Put three shapes in the cells, with a simple rule (same shape, different color — or same color, different size). Ask your child to fill in the fourth. This mirrors the Reasoning by Analogy question format exactly.
- Sequence games. Line up colored blocks, stickers, or drawings in a pattern with one element removed. "Red, blue, red, ___, red, blue." Ask your child to name the missing color. Progress to two-attribute sequences as they get comfortable.
- Shape sorting and rotation. Hold up a cut-out triangle and rotate it. Ask your child: "Is this still a triangle?" Then ask them to pick up a piece that "matches" from a pile. This introduces spatial orientation thinking.
Books and Apps That Help
You do not need expensive test prep materials for a kindergartner. These are practical, widely available options:
- "Pattern Block Activities" workbooks — available at most teacher supply stores or on Amazon. Look for ones aimed at Grades K–1 that focus on copying and extending patterns.
- Highlights "Hidden Pictures" books — building visual scanning ability and pattern discrimination, which supports NNAT pattern recognition.
- Osmo Genius Starter Kit (ages 5+) — an interactive iPad-based game system with shape-completion and tangram activities that directly build NNAT-relevant skills.
- Thinkfun's "Shape by Shape" — a tangram-style puzzle game where children recreate silhouettes using geometric pieces. Excellent spatial skill builder.
- OpenKidsPrep NNAT practice — our NNAT flashcards and practice questions include age-appropriate visual pattern exercises that directly mirror the Level A format.
How Much Prep Is Enough?
The sweet spot for kindergartners is 8 to 12 weeks of light, consistent practice — about 10 minutes per day. This is enough time to build genuine fluency with visual pattern tasks without causing burnout or turning prep into a stressful obligation.
What to avoid:
- Cramming in the week before the test. Five-year-olds do not benefit from intensive short-term drilling the way older students sometimes do.
- Longer sessions. Twenty or thirty minutes is too long at this age. The moment your child starts losing interest, stop. Visual reasoning fatigue in young children is real.
- Framing it as "test prep." Keep the activities fun and present them as games, not homework. Children who associate the activity with stress tend to perform worse on the actual test.
Test Day Tips for Young Children
The practical logistics of test day matter more for kindergartners than for older children. A few things that make a genuine difference:
- Sleep. Cognitive performance in children this age is disproportionately sensitive to sleep. The night before the test, aim for their normal full sleep amount — not an early night that disrupts their rhythm.
- Breakfast. A protein-containing breakfast (eggs, yogurt, nut butter) provides more stable energy than a carbohydrate-only meal. Avoid very sugary cereals the morning of the test.
- Calm arrival. Arrive 10–15 minutes early. Give your child time to use the bathroom, settle in, and see the environment before the test begins. Rushed arrivals add unnecessary stress.
- Familiar comfort object. If allowed by the testing site, a small familiar item in a pocket (a smooth stone, a small toy) can reduce anxiety for young children without being a distraction.
- Encourage guessing. The NNAT does not penalize for wrong answers. Make sure your child knows it is always okay to pick an answer, even if they are not sure — never leave a question blank.
What Happens After the Test: Score Timeline and Next Steps
Score turnaround varies by district, but most families receive results within 4 to 8 weeks of the test date. Some districts, including NYC, release scores in batches aligned with their gifted placement calendar.
When your child's results arrive, you will typically receive:
- A raw score (number of questions answered correctly)
- A Naglieri Ability Index (NAI) standard score (mean 100, SD 15)
- A national percentile rank
If your child qualifies for a gifted program, the district will contact you with placement information. If they come close but do not qualify, most districts allow retesting in a subsequent testing cycle — usually the following year. A child who tested at age 5 and scored at the 88th percentile can easily reach the 95th percentile a year later, both because their skills have grown and because their age norming recalibrates.
Whatever the result, the habits you built during prep — puzzle-solving, pattern thinking, spatial play — will continue to benefit your child's reasoning development far beyond any single test.
Start Practicing
Try free NNAT practice questions designed for kindergarten and Grade 1.
Practice NNAT Level A →