Verbal Reasoning Skills Needed for The Admissions Test for Beginning Learners® (AABL® Test)

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - July 20th, 2014

The AABL Test assesses a child’s skills in the area of Verbal Reasoning. Verbal reasoning is a child’s ability to tune in, understand, and reason using language they hear or pictures they see. As students get older, this would be their ability to reasoning skills to solve problems or answer questions related to what they read.

Hundreds of practice questions to build your child’s Verbal Reasoning skills are available at www.TestingMom.com. After you join at the top 1% level, just log in, go to Select Practice Questions, and then go to practice questions for The Admissions Test for Beginning Learners (AABL test).
Below are two examples of Verbal Reasoning Question. With the first type of question, the words can only be read once to the child, so he or she must listen carefully and remember what is asked:

Michelle lived on the second floor of her house. One day, her mother gave her something that she could keep in her room that would be handy to use to escape out the window in case there ever was a fire. What did she give Michelle? Answer: 3rd picture over the bubble.

Here, the child listens to a question and needs to tune in on everything it is asking. Michelle lives on the second floor. She is given something that will help her escape in case there is a fire. The child needs to think carefully and use reasoning skills to eliminate the fire extinguisher and large ladder as
being the “something” that Michelle could use in a “handy” way to escape out the window. The rope would be the answer.

Here is another Verbal Reasoning Question.

Look at the 2 pictures on top. They go together in some way. Now look at the answer choices. Choose the answer that goes with the picture on the bottom the same way the pictures on top go together. Answer: the first picture over the bubble. An older (reading) child might see this analogy question expressed as “A rose is to the nose as a song/singer is to the ? – ear.”

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