CogAT lessonsNonverbal Battery
CogAT figure matrices
Two pictures that go together, then a third picture. Your child picks the picture that changes the third one in the same way.
What your child sees
Grade 4, a question like this one
The first two pictures go together in a certain way. Which picture goes with the third picture in the same way?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
Kindergarten to Grade 2, read aloud
Look at the top row. The first picture changes into the second picture. Which picture shows the bottom picture changed in the same way?
- A
- B
- C
Show the answer and whyHide the answer
Look at what changes from the first top picture to the second: the size, the color, or how many shapes there are.
Here the picture gets bigger.
Make exactly that change to the bottom picture, and nothing else.
Final answer
The bottom picture after that change.
Remember
Look at what changes between the two top pictures: the size, the color, or how many shapes there are.
Up to Grade 2 it is a grid of shapes with an empty box, the directions are read aloud, and there are three pictures to choose from.
Worked example
The same question, one step at a time.
- 1Name the change in the first pair: the shape is flipped over from top to bottom.
- 2Check that is the ONLY change: nothing else about the shape moves — same parts, same sizes, and the shading stays as it was unless the change says otherwise.
- 3Do the same to the third shape, and no more than that.
- 4Final answer: the picture showing the third shape flipped over from top to bottom.
Common traps
Every wrong choice is built from a mistake children really make.
Turning instead of flipping
A flip and a turn can look alike. A flip makes a mirror image; a turn keeps the shape the same way round.
In the example: choice D.
No change at all
The third picture, copied as it is, is always a choice. It is never the answer when the first pair changes.
In the example: choice B.
Too far
A half turn where the pair shows a quarter turn. Count how far the first shape moved.
In the example: choice C.
Where it is on the test
Figure matrices is one of the three parts of the Nonverbal Battery. Up to Grade 2 it is a picture version, read aloud with no time limit.
| Grade | Part | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten (Level 5/6) | Figure matrices | 14 | No time limit |
| Grade 1 (Level 7) | Figure matrices | 16 | No time limit |
| Grade 2 (Level 8) | Figure matrices | 18 | No time limit |
| Grade 3 (Level 9) | Figure matrices | 20 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 4 (Level 10) | Figure matrices | 22 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 5 (Level 11) | Figure matrices | 22 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 6 (Level 12) | Figure matrices | 22 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 7 (Level 13/14) | Figure matrices | 22 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 8 (Level 13/14) | Figure matrices | 22 | 10 minutes |
Counts and times are Riverside Insights’ published figures.
Try it
Ten free Nonverbal Battery questions, new every time, with the score at the end. You will be asked to make a free account.
The other parts of the Nonverbal Battery
CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by Riverside Insights or any school district. Our practice questions are written by us in the style of the published CogAT question types; they are not real CogAT questions, and a practice score is not a CogAT score.