NNAT3 Level B common mistakes
NNAT3 Level B · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In Pattern Completion, the candidate picks a missing-piece option that matches the overall colour or theme of the large design but does not continue the actual lines, edges, or shapes across the gap.
Young test-takers often judge a picture globally ('it looks like the same kind of picture') rather than tracing each line to the edge of the missing square. The brain fills gaps with plausible content, so a 'pretty' distractor feels correct.
What to do instead
Teach a physical check: put a fingertip on the left edge of the hole and slide it to the right, naming what must enter and exit the gap (e.g., 'a blue line enters halfway up and continues straight'). Repeat for all four edges before looking at the options, then eliminate any option that breaks even one edge.
In Pattern Completion, the candidate ignores the size, spacing, or angle of a repeated element and accepts a piece where the pattern is the right type but at the wrong scale or position.
Distractors are deliberately built by copying the correct element and resizing, rotating, or shifting it. A child who has already identified 'stripes' stops analysing and grabs the first striped option.
What to do instead
Have the candidate count and measure before choosing: count the stripes or dots that should cross the gap, and note whether lines are thick or thin and evenly spaced. Compare the chosen piece to the neighbouring region by counting the same feature on both sides of the seam.
In Reasoning by Analogy, the candidate applies the transformation in the wrong direction, changing the second pair the way the first pair changed instead of the way it must change to match.
The A-to-B relationship can run either way (added, removed, rotated, shrunk), and under time pressure children copy the visible change rather than asking 'what happened to A to make B?' and then 'what must happen to C to make D?'
What to do instead
Force a spoken sentence for every item: 'A became B by ___, so C must become D by the same ___.' If the sentence cannot be finished in one short phrase, the rule is not yet identified and the candidate should look again rather than guess.
In Reasoning by Analogy, the candidate spots one shared feature (same colour, same outer shape) and declares the pair matched, missing a second rule such as a change in number of parts or a flip.
Analogy items often combine two rules, and the easiest one is the most visually salient. Once a match is found on the salient feature, the search stops, which is a natural shortcut for young children.
What to do instead
Require a two-rule check on the A-B pair: name the colour or shape rule and then name a second rule (count, size, orientation, filled vs. outline). Only options satisfying both rules survive; verify the survivor against both before marking.
In Reasoning by Analogy, the candidate treats a mirror image as identical to a rotation, choosing an option that is flipped when the rule calls for turning.
At this level, left-right and up-down reversals look very similar to a quarter turn, especially with symmetric or near-symmetric shapes. Children have not yet automatised the difference between flipping and rotating.
What to do instead
Give a concrete test: pick one asymmetric landmark on the shape (a notch, a dot, a longer arm) and track where it moves. A rotation moves the landmark around the shape; a flip puts it on the opposite side. Practise with a cut-out paper shape turned and flipped on the desk.
In Serial Reasoning, the candidate assumes the sequence repeats a single step (always +1, always rotate 90 degrees) and so misses a sequence that alternates or changes by increasing amounts.
The first two or three frames usually fit a simple constant rule, and confirmation bias makes the candidate stop testing. Alternating and growing patterns only reveal themselves at the fourth frame.
What to do instead
Train the habit of predicting frame four from frames one to three before looking at the answer choices, then checking whether the step between frames is constant, alternating, or growing (e.g., 1, 2, 3 parts). If the step changes, the rule is the change, not the first step.
In Serial Reasoning, the candidate tracks only one attribute through the series (for example, the number of shapes) and ignores a second attribute moving independently (for example, shading or position).
Working memory limits mean a child locks onto the most obvious changing feature. Multi-attribute series are standard at this level, so a single-track answer is frequently a designed distractor.
What to do instead
Adopt a checklist read of every frame: count, colour/fill, size, orientation, position. Write or whisper the value of each attribute for frames one to three, then extend each column separately and combine.
In Serial Reasoning, the candidate continues a pattern past the missing frame instead of filling the gap, so the chosen option fits the sequence's later stage rather than the empty position.
Children often read left to right and keep the 'next' frame in mind, losing track of which box is actually blank, especially when the blank is not the last one.
What to do instead
Point to the empty box and cover the frames after it with a hand or finger before solving. Solve only from the frames before the gap, then uncover and confirm the chosen frame fits between its two neighbours.
In Spatial Visualization, the candidate answers the folded or combined figure by matching the outer silhouette only, ignoring where internal lines, holes, or overlaps will fall.
Silhouette matching is fast and feels sufficient, but distractors are built with the correct outline and wrong internal detail. Children under time pressure stop at the outline.
What to do instead
Require the candidate to mark, in words or with a finger, one internal feature and predict where it lands after folding or combining (e.g., 'the dot is in the top-left quarter, so after folding it meets the bottom-left'). Reject options whose outline matches but whose internal feature is misplaced.
In Spatial Visualization, the candidate mentally rotates a shape but loses track of handedness or of which side faces the viewer, accepting a mirror image as a valid turn.
Mental rotation is effortful and error-prone for young children, and the visual system treats mirrored versions of familiar shapes as 'the same'. Distractors exploit exactly this tolerance.
What to do instead
Anchor on one asymmetric detail and rehearse the rotation in small steps (a quarter turn at a time), saying the new position of the landmark aloud. If the landmark ends up mirrored rather than moved, the option is a flip and must be rejected.