The NGAT in
5th & 6th grade.

Three areas. Different kinds of clues.

The publisher’s overview describes three measures that can be used separately or in combination. The questions focus on reasoning while reducing demands on language and advanced academic knowledge.

Timing for Grades 5 and 6: the MHS administration table gives a maximum of 35 minutes for 40 questions in each assigned test. Setup, directions and the practice questions are separate. If all three are assigned, the maximum question time totals 105 minutes; the school determines the session schedule and any applicable accommodations.

The authors’ FAQ describes grade-specific test forms. The same broad reasoning areas can appear at different grades without the official forms being identical.

What changes in fifth or sixth grade?

For fifth-grade families

District arrangements differ. Carrollton–Farmers Branch ISD’s NGAT page includes fifth-grade screening across the three areas. Beaverton’s current plan assigns Quantitative in Grade 5, following Nonverbal in Grade 3 and Verbal in Grade 4. Those are different practice needs.

For sixth-grade families

Asheville City Schools’ family FAQ identifies Nonverbal testing in Grade 6. This is one district’s approach, not a national sixth-grade requirement. Ask your school whether your child will take a particular area or a broader set.

Use the district tracker for source links, the FCPS guide for Fairfax County context, and the score guide when the report arrives. Local screening and placement decisions need more context than a workbook result.

Six questions. Explain the rule.

These are excerpts from the NGAT Grades 5–6 Practice Workbook. The original Form A question numbers are retained. The PDF adds six more questions and a separate answer key.

For verbal questions, choose the picture that does not belong. For the other areas, complete the pattern or follow the printed direction. Look at every choice before opening the answer.

Example 1 · verbal

A shared feature

See the answer and rule

Answer 1. The sheep, table, chicken, mouse and goat have legs. The die has none.

Check all five members: animals have legs, and so does the table. A rule of “living things” would leave both the table and the die outside the group, so it would not group five pictures.

Example 2 · verbal

What the objects can do

See the answer and rule

Answer 5. Five things can open. The hammer cannot.

An umbrella, jar, book, pair of scissors and box can each open and close. The pictures do not need to look alike to share an action.

Example 3 · nonverbal

Shape and shading

See the answer and rule

Answer 1. The bottom row is triangles and the last column is solid, so the missing cell is a solid triangle.

Use both directions: the row gives the shape and the column gives the shading. A solid square follows only the shading rule; an outline triangle follows only the shape rule.

Example 4 · nonverbal

Track three features

See the answer and rule

Answer 5. The missing outer shape is square; its inner arrow uses the right column's 180-degree turn and the bottom row's solid fill.

There are three things to track. Each row and column uses the three outer shapes once. Arrows point up, right and down across every row. The bottom row uses solid arrows. All three checks select the square with a solid downward arrow.

Example 5 · quantitative

Find the same change

See the answer and rule

Answer A. Two becomes six and five becomes nine by adding four, so seven becomes eleven.

Adding four explains both examples: 2 + 4 = 6 and 5 + 4 = 9. Doubling does not explain either pair. Apply the same addition to 7 to get 11.

Example 6 · quantitative

A changing step size

See the answer and rule

Answer D. The increase grows by two each time. Adding thirteen to 35 gives 48.

Write the gaps: +5, +7, +9, +11. The next gap is +13, so 35 + 13 = 48. Repeating the most recent gap would ignore how the earlier gaps change.

A useful way to approach optional practice.

The test authors say formal studying is unnecessary. Their parent guidance emphasizes careful attention to directions, considering the choices and arriving rested. Follow your school’s advice about preparation.

If your child enjoys trying a few original puzzles, make the explanation the point of the activity:

1. Attempt a small set. Leave the answers covered and give your child time to think.
2. Name the rule. Ask which features matter and whether the rule explains every completed example or every member of the group.
3. Compare the explanation. If a choice seemed plausible, check which part of the rule it misses. Then stop or return another day.

In the workbook, the skill ladders provide an entry point before the two practice forms. Both Form A and Form B are for the Grades 5–6 band. A sample score does not translate into an official percentile or a gifted-program decision.