Description
OLSAT assesses verbal and nonverbal reasoning abilities
that are related to success in school. Although the Total
score is the best overall indicator of school-learning
ability, a student's ability to learn in school is dependent
on both types of skills. The Verbal processes measured are
Verbal Comprehension and Verbal Reasoning. Nonverbal processes
are Pictorial Reasoning, Figural Reasoning, and Quantitative
Reasoning.
Tasks such as detecting likenesses and differences,
recalling words and numbers, defining words, following
directions, classifying, establishing sequence, solving
arithmetic problems, and completing analogies are included in
OLSAT, since they have been shown to be valid measures of an
individual's ability to reason logically.
A variety of scores is available to describe the student's
Total, Verbal, and Nonverbal performance, including School
Ability Indexes (SAIs), percentile ranks and stanines based on
age and grade, scaled scores, and normal curve equivalents (NCEs).
The SAI, with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 16, is a
relatively easy-to-understand indicator of a student's
standing relative to his or her age peers.
OLSAT consists of seven levels that collectively assess the
range of ability of students in Kindergarten through Grade 12.
A separate test level is available for each grade from K
through Grade 3, allowing for the rapid cognitive growth that
occurs during this period.
"The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) is
based on the notion that to learn new things, students must
be able to perceive accurately, to recognize and recall what
has been perceived, to think logically, to understand
relationships, to abstract from a set of particulars, and to
apply generalizations to new and different contexts. These
processes are measured through performance on such tasks as
detecting likenesses and differences, following directions,
classifying, establishing sequence, completing analogies,
and solving matrixes. "
OLSAT at Unit 5
2000 Results
| Number Tested |
Total |
Verbal |
Non-Verbal |
| 771 |
106.7 |
106.1 |
106.9 |
|
