Naglieri General Ability Tests

Q&A with Drs Naglieri, BRULLES and Lansdowne

Learn More about the Naglieri General Ability Tests

The Naglieri General Ability Tests by Jack A. Naglieri, PhD., Dina M. Brulles, PhD., and Kimberly Lansdowne, PhD. were explicitly developed to address the need for fair assessment of gifted students so they can receive educational opportunities appropriate for their ability. Watch Part One of our Q&A with the authors of the Naglieri General Ability Tests as they discuss the test, its components, and the need for assessment in the field of gifted and talented.

Research Findings: Consistent Performance on the Naglieri General Ability Tests

How were these tests developed?

Authors Jack A. Naglieri, PhD, Dina M. Brulles, PhD, and Kimberly Lansdowne, PhD developed tests that they thought would be equitable if they did three things. First, devise a way to show, rather than use verbal directions, students what they need to do to complete the test. Second, present test questions that could be solved in any language the student desires. Third, eliminate the need for students to answer the questions verbally by using the multiple-choice format.

Is there any evidence that your goal of fair assessment was achieved?

The answer is yes. Evidence supporting this goal comes from a peer-reviewed research paper published in Psychology in the Schools entitled, “A pilot study of race, ethnic, gender, and parental education level differences on the Naglieri General Ability Tests: Verbal, Nonverbal, and Quantitative,” by Selvamenan, Paolozza, Solomon, and Naglieri (2024). This study examined relationships between general intelligence test scores and race, ethnicity, gender, and parental education using three samples that closely matched the U.S. population. The results showed that few differences were found on the preliminary versions of the Verbal (N = 2,482), Nonverbal (N = 3,488), and Quantitative (N = 2,440) Naglieri General Ability Tests. The results support our expectation that the confounding impact of language and knowledge, particularly in the directions, test content, and response format, can be minimized to achieve a fair way of assessing students for gifted educational programs.

Now Available

Understanding and Using the Naglieri General Ability Tests

By: Dina Brulles, PhD., Kimberly Lansdowne, PhD., & Jack A. Naglieri, PhD.

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Access and Contact Details

Who is the publisher?

The Naglieri General Ability Tests is published by Multi-Health Systems Inc. (mhs.com). MHS is a leading publisher of scientifically validated measures for use in educational, clinical, corporate, public safety, government, military, and pharmaceutical settings. They have published Dr. Jack A. Naglieri's Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS), Autism Spectrum Rating Scales Adult (ASRS Adult), the Comprehensive Executive Functional Inventory (CEFI) child/adolescent and adult versions, Rating Scale of Impairment, and the Naglieri General Ability Tests: Verbal, Nonverbal, & Quantitative.

How can I learn more about this new product?

Webinars and handouts about The Naglieri General Ability Tests are available here at NaglieriGiftedTests.com under Webinars These resources describe why the tests were developed, the need that they address, what the items look like, how the tests can be used to identify a wide variety of gifted students and how to interpret the scores.

Contact

Please contact Account Executive, Debbie Roby for more information or to order; debbie.roby@mhs.com

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Test Questions and Format

What are some of the innovative aspects of these three tests?

The most innovative aspect of the Naglieri General Ability Tests is the way the authors have structured the interaction between the student and the test.

For example, the authors asked the question,

“How can we inform the student about the demands of the test without using oral or written directions?”

The answer was to show the student what to do using an animated video of a ‘student’ in front of a computer. As the video plays, the avatar moves the mouse and the cursor moves accordingly. The video illustrates how to respond to the item and then how to advance to the next item. This format is used when the test is administered online and a four-frame pictorial version of the video is used when the test is administered on paper.

Making the test questions for all three tests accessible regardless of what language the student speaks was accomplished by using pictures and diagrams to measure general ability within verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative contexts.

To eliminate the need for the student to verbally explain the answers (as is typically done on traditional measures of IQ), the student selects a picture that indicates their response. These procedures allow students to solve the test questions regardless of what language(s) they know.

What was the test modeled after?

This test was modeled after the neuropsychological work of A. R. Luria. The nonverbal test (Naglieri-NV; Naglieri, 2021) is like those published in the past, but with new kinds of items. The Naglieri-NV measures general ability using questions that require a student to carefully examine shapes presented in a matrix where sequences, spatial orientations, and other distinguishing characteristics must be analyzed to determine the answer. The Quantitative test that Jack A. Naglieri, PhD and Kimberly Lansdowne, PhD created (Naglieri-Q; Naglieri & Lansdowne, 2021) measures general ability using questions that require a student to closely examine the relationships among the numbers and/or symbols using basic math concepts. All three of these tests measure what is referred to as general ability, which is sometimes designated by the letter g.

How is this test administered?

The Naglieri General Ability Tests are group or individually administered for students in grade K-9, ages 5 to 15 years old. The tests are available with both local norms and national norms to identify students for gifted educational services using the Verbal, Nonverbal, & Quantitative versions of the Naglieri General Ability Tests (Naglieri, Brulles, & Lansdowne, 2021).

Learn More

Explore a collection of webinars and companion handouts about the Naglieri General Ability Tests and their components.

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Distinguishing between two Tests

Naglieri General Ability Tests: Nonverbal

How are the Naglieri General Ability Tests: Verbal (Naglieri & Brulles, 2022), Nonverbal (Naglieri, 2022) and Quantitative (Naglieri & Lansdowne, 2022) different from the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, also known as the NNAT?

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) measures general ability using only nonverbal test questions. The Naglieri General Ability Tests measure general ability using verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal test questions. Conceptually the two are the same; the questions are made using shapes like circles and squares arranged in columns and rows as shown below. The questions measure general ability very efficiently because the child must understand the relationships among the shapes and very little knowledge is needed to arrive at the answer.

Why did the authors add verbal and quantitative tests added to the nonverbal test?

Verbal and quantitative tests were added to enable a broader approach to measuring general ability. The three separate tests also allow the user to select any combination desired when testing a student.

How does the Naglieri General Ability Tests; Verbal test compare to the Naglieri General Ability Tests; Nonverbal version?

Like the Naglieri Nonverbal, the Naglieri Verbal test questions require the child to understand the relationships among six pictures when five of the pictures represent a verbal concept and one does not. In this example, the concept is “empty.” In this example, pictures are used so that the student can solve the problem using any language, and very little knowledge is needed to arrive at the answer.

How does the Naglieri General Ability Tests; Quantitative test compare to the Nonverbal version?

Like the Naglieri Nonverbal and Verbal, the Naglieri Quantitative test questions require the child to understand the relationships among things, in this case, numbers. All the questions require simple math and can be solved regardless of the language(s) used by the child and very little knowledge is needed to arrive at the answer.

Do these tests measure different kinds of ability?

The Naglieri General Ability Tests: Verbal, Nonverbal, and Quantitative do not measure different kinds of intelligence, they all measure the concept of general ability. When the three tests are used as a group, a broad measure of general ability is obtained.

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Administration Questions

How long does it take to finish each test?

It takes approximately 30 minutes to take each test.

Do students move through each subtest separately?

There are no subtests in the Naglieri General Ability Tests. Instead, there are three separate tests: Verbal, Nonverbal, and Quantitative, respectively.

Is there a feature to regulate the pace of a test taker if a student is answering questions faster than their peers?

Each student has full access to all of the test questions in each test, including the option to skip and return to items within the allotted timeframe. Since students may complete the tests at different times, it is advisable for test administrators to incorporate best practices in classroom management during test administration.

Can students undertake multiple tests in the same session and/or day?

Since each test has its own instruction video and provides a total standard score (Mn 100, SD 15) each test can be administered in any arrangement. While some schools may choose to administer Verbal and Nonverbal on day one and Quantitative on day two, there is no specific directive for this sequence.

Can you test multiple grade levels at the same time and during the same session?

Due to the differing time limits and video instructions, students in Kindergarten to Grade 1 may be tested together and students in Grades 2-9 may be tested together. Each grade level must have its own “Test Plan” prior to administration. This serves as a guide for systematic and controlled testing environments.

How can you monitor students completing on the teacher, school, and division levels?

The MHS Group Insights (MGI) platform includes a track completion feature that enables the continuous monitoring of students’ test completion. This feature allows for ongoing observation and assessment of their progress.

For each grade level, how many forms are available?

There is one form of each test for each grade level.

Is it possible to utilize multiple or alternate forms during the test window, for instance, in the event of a student irregularity, is the test deemed invalid?

Currently, there is only one form of each test per grade level.

In the event of a student encountering an irregular situation, what alternatives exist to ensure their assessment and scores are received?

Response style indicators on the final report offer insights into any irregularities. Depending on the nature of the irregularity, a student’s score might be questionable, and the possibility of re-testing could be considered.

Is there a recommended time between successive test attempts?

Students should not re‑take a test within the same calendar year when valid results are obtained on the first administration. Re‑testing within a shorter timeframe may be permitted in circumstances where best effort was not given on the first attempt (e.g., as indicated by the response style metrics provided in the reports).

Before the test is administered, are there practice items that allow for universal exposure to item types prior to testing?

Yes, every student is required to successfully complete three practice problems at the start of each test. These practice exercises are designed to assist the student in understanding the test requirements.

What accommodations are available for English Learners and students with disabilities?

All accommodations previously established for the student will be honored. The administration manual includes a list of accommodations and guidelines for their implementation. It’s important to note that instructions do not require verbal comprehension.

Is there a paper version for the three tests?

The test is available in an online format only.

Data Questions

How long does it take to receive the results reports?

Reports can be automatically generated in the MGI platform after the last child within a grade level completes the test.

Do you receive individual subscores?

No, there are no subscores. Instead, three scores are provided, each corresponding to one of the three tests. Standard scores, percentiles, and stanines are provided for interpretive purposes.

How do you view the results during testing?

Results cannot be accessed or viewed during the testing process.

Are there specific reports for parents?

Yes, there is an individual student report that is available for parents in both English and Spanish formats.

Are national norms available?

Yes, national norms are available for grades K-6. You can find more information about national norms here.

Are local norms available?

Yes, local norms are available for grades K-9. You can find more information about local norms here.

In which format are results reporting available?

Student results are provided in an Excel and CSV format for Group Reports, and PDF format for Individual Reports.

If there is an update to a student’s demographic information, such as birthdate, what is the procedure for requesting a rescore of the test?

A new report will need to be generated so the correct information is included.

Is it possible to export results at both the district and school levels?

Reports can be generated with results at the school, subdistrict, or district levels. and can be transmitted to schools using Excel or CSV formats.

Can you print reports at both the school and district levels?

Currently, reports can be generated and distributed by the District Gifted Department to both campus and other district departments as needed.

What measures are in a position to restrict the acquisition of this assessment by entities outside of educational institutions, such as test prep organizations?

MHS only sells the test to vetted school districts.

Frequently Asked Questions