Nonverbal Battery
CogAT Paper Folding, Explained
A sheet is folded, holes are punched, and your child picks what it looks like unfolded. It measures spatial visualization — running a physical process forward and backward purely in the mind.
A worked example
Example: A square sheet is folded in half left-over-right, and one hole is punched near the folded edge. Unfolded, how many holes — and where?
Show the answer and reasoning
Answer: Two holes, mirror images across the center fold line
Every layer under the punch gets a hole, and unfolding reflects each hole across the fold line. One fold = two layers = two holes, arranged symmetrically. More folds double the layers again — count layers first, then mirror.
An original Archer Anthem illustration of the format — on the assessment these appear as pictures for young test-takers.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting that holes mirror across the fold (placing them side by side instead)
- Counting one hole per punch instead of one per layer punched through
Parent tip: This is the one subtest best practiced with actual paper and a hole punch — five real folds teach more than fifty pictures. Predict first, then punch and check.
The other CogAT subtests
Start from the beginning: the CogAT parent's guide · NNAT vs CogAT
CogAT practice books
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Sample pages from our practice books by email — see the question style before you buy anything.
Get free samplesNNAT® (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test®) is a registered trademark of Pearson Education, Inc. CogAT® (Cognitive Abilities Test™) is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC. Neither Pearson nor Riverside is affiliated with, nor do they endorse, Archer Anthem. Archer Anthem materials are independent practice resources in the style of these assessments.