Important
From January 2026, AGAT results will be reported exclusively through the ACER Data Explorer. The current Strand report will be discontinued and will no longer be available within the reporting suite. Results for AGAT 1st Edition tests will only be available as scale scores in ACER Data Explorer.
We strongly encourage you to export Student and/or Group reports for AGAT 1st Edition tests before 31 December 2025. After this date, these reports will no longer be accessible.
The ACER General Ability Tests, commonly known as AGAT, are designed to measure general reasoning by requiring students to demonstrate an ability to identify relationships, process information and solve problems. The assessments have been developed especially, but not exclusively, for use in Australian schools.
This article covers the following topics:
- Introduction
- About AGAT
-
Supporting documents
- Administration instructions
- Assessment framework
- Australian norms
- Primary sample test
- Secondary sample test
Introduction
AGAT 2nd Edition
AGAT 2nd Edition (2022) is the most recently developed assessment to use the AGAT construct. Updated in line with the contemporary needs of educators and students, AGAT 2nd Edition offers robust measures of general ability with an updated, colourful and engaging format.
AGAT 2nd Edition comprises test forms ranging from Test 1 to Test 9 and can be administered according to student ability, based on previous scale scores and the educator’s professional judgement. The test forms are targeted for students aged from seven to sixteen years of age and assess five aspects, or strands, of general ability.
Updated AGAT norms are based on testing completed during October – December 2019, which was selected as the last stable year of data collection before the COVID-19 global pandemic, which affected schools and students across Australia in 2020 and 2021. The norms capture the performance of students from Year 2 to Year 10 who completed AGAT 1st Edition tests.
AGAT 1st Edition
The AGAT 1st Edition assessments were the first assessments released in the AGAT series, but followed over 60 years of research and experience in the field of general ability testing. Initially released as paper-based assessments, AGAT was also made available as a suite of online assessments in 2012.
From 2023, AGAT 1st Edition is only available for purchase as a paper-based assessment.
About AGAT
Abstract reasoning
Abstract reasoning is the ability to see patterns and logic in pictures and diagrams. Abstract reasoning questions require students to complete visual patterns that follow simple rules, deduce which rules have been applied to change the states of images, and identify the next steps in 2-Dimensional visual sequences. Abstract reasoning is de-contextualised in the sense that the problems addressed cannot be applied to any real-world context – they deal with abstract concepts.
- At lower levels, students are required to spot simple rotational patterns in 2-D images, and identify the next step in that sequence.
- At higher levels, students must identify the rules that have been applied to transform multi-faceted shapes and apply those rules to new scenarios.
Kinetic reasoning
Kinetic reasoning is the ability to anticipate the results from the movement of objects in real-life situations. Kinetic reasoning questions require students to recognise the effects of turning gears, pulling levers and manipulating pulleys. They require students to understand the flow of water and rolling balls in simple networks, and the position of objects on a grid after a series of commands.
- At lower levels, students must identify what happens when a force is applied to a lever in a simple system.
- At higher levels, students are required to apply rules by tracking backwards to establish the starting point of a dynamic situation.
Numerical reasoning
Numerical reasoning items require students to recognise numerical patterns and sequences, categorise objects to match numerical quotas, link input and output from number machines, and apply rules to arithmetic puzzles.
- At lower levels, students need to apply basic numerical deduction to calculate unknown values in simple word problems.
- At higher levels, students must take into account multiple inter-related variables to find the outcomes of non-standard scenarios.
Spatial reasoning
Spatial reasoning is the ability to visualise the transformations of objects on a page. Spatial reasoning questions require students to identify different viewpoints when looking at 3-D objects, recognise where shapes appear in complex images, identify how shapes have been manipulated through reflection and rotation, and rearrange pieces of an image to form a complete picture.
- At lower levels, students must identify how to rotate two simple objects to make them fit together.
- At higher levels, students need to recognise how a set of objects has been manipulated between photographs taken from different perspectives.
Verbal reasoning
Verbal reasoning is the ability to understand how words connect to each other and how words within a sentence affect meaning. Verbal reasoning questions require students to understand the hierarchy of words, identify relationships between words, rearrange words to form a sentence, and make logic of competing sentences.
- At lower levels, students need to identify specific and general words from a group of similar words.
- At higher levels, students must take into account multiple sentences providing related information to specify the order in which things can be organised.