Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test Guide: Scoring, Types & How to Prepare

If you are looking to enroll your child in a gifted program, then they most likely have to take the Kaufman Brief Intelligence test.

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test is a credible and valid brief cognitive assessment that measures verbal and nonverbal intelligence in individuals between the ages of 4 and 90 years old.

This blog post explores the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition, in detail and shares some tips on preparing for the test.

About the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence, or KBIT, test was created by leading cognitive ability experts Alan Kaufman, Ph.D., and his wife, Nadeen Kaufman, EdD, in 1979.

The couple originally developed the first edition of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and other educational tests. In 1990, the original test was condensed into a shorter version, known as the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test.

The test remained the same until 2004 when it was reformatted into the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition.

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition, is a short test individually administered by a healthcare professional and provides a more comprehensive evaluation of a child’s verbal and nonverbal intelligence.

It is a thorough cognitive assessment designed to measure young children’s cognitive abilities accurately. This includes measuring their specific strengths and weaknesses. The test also helps identify high-risk children.

The Kaufman test is often used to qualify children for gifted programs. It is sometimes used as a pre-qualifier or screener. Children who perform well on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition, are invited to move on to more advanced testing, such as completing an IQ test.

Second Edition Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test scoring

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition, is made up of three scores: verbal, non-verbal, and an overall IQ composite. You will see these three scores separately when you receive your child’s results.

The verbal score shows how well your child performed on the test’s riddles and verbal knowledge sections. It evaluates crystallized ability.

The non-verbal score indicates how well your child performed on the matrices section of the KBIT-2 test. This shows how the test scored your child’s overall abilities in fluid reasoning.

The composite IQ score is often used in the admission process for gifted and talented programs.

This composite IQ score is calculated by taking the raw score and converting it through a predetermined equation into the final composite IQ score. This score generally varies from 40 to 160. Your child’s score over 130 indicates that they are gifted.

Practical Applications of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test

The KBIT test is commonly used for quantifying a child’s cognitive abilities to be granted admission to gifted schools and programs. It also serves to measure the cognitive progress of mental processing abilities.

Medical professionals may also recommend the KBIT test for identifying learning disabilities in high-risk children and predicting future cognitive deficiencies.

This is by far the most important reason for taking the KBIT test. As it will allow medical professionals and parents to recommend activities and additional treatments to offset a potential mental disability.

Apart from these reasons, the Kaufman test can also provide a quick and general calculation of one’s intelligence and a general idea of how one’s nonverbal intelligence compares to verbal intelligence.

Different Types of Questions Asked in the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test Second Edition test consists of two sections: verbal and non-verbal.

Each section of the test includes subsections:

Verbal Test

The verbal test comprises two sections: riddles and verbal knowledge. In total, this test has 60 questions. The verbal test assesses verbal concept formation, reasoning ability, and word knowledge.

In the verbal knowledge section of the verbal test, the child is presented with a group of images and is required to identify one image that represents a vocabulary word. In the middle section of the test, the child is given a few clues about the word they are looking for. The clues start off fairly easy and gradually become more challenging.

Non-Verbal Test

The non-verbal test consists of 46 questions about matrices. It tests a child’s nonverbal ability through problem-solving, visual analogies, and identifying relationships.

Children are presented with one image and a series of possible answers in the matrices subtest. The child must point to a picture in the answer choices that match the picture on top.

Preparation Tips

The best way to prepare your child for the KBIT test is to practice. When your child first starts to practice, avoid time limits. Allow your child to practice with easy materials such as test booklets and material-type manuals.

Once your child has done a couple of practice questions, examine their test results to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Make sure they spend more time working on their weaknesses and less time on their strengths.

When your child is confident in their ability to perform well, add a time limit and verbal readings to their test practice. Apart from measuring your child’s intellectual ability, the KBIT-2 indicates how well your child works under pressure.

KBIT-2 Advantages

The second edition of the Kaufman test offers the same practical and affordable test as the original but with enhanced benefits.

• The test quickly evaluates the intellectual ability of adults in institutional settings, such as prisons, rehabilitation clinics, or medical centers.
• It estimates a person’s verbal and nonverbal intelligence.
• The test re-evaluates the intellectual status of a child or adult who has previously undergone a thorough cognitive assessment.
• Determine which children may benefit from gifted or talented programs.
• Identify high-risk children through large-scale screening who require a more in-depth evaluation.

KBIT-2 Features

Similar to KBIT-1, KBIT-2 provides validity and reliability. The test includes some of the following features:

• Cultural fairness is reflected in norming procedures and item selection.
• The improved verbal scale gives correct responses in other languages credit.
• Attractive, easy-to-use materials with colorful items.
• Independently established norms based on a national standardization sample selected to match the United States census data.

Final Thoughts

The KBIT test is useful for children who struggle to perform well in school. It tests innate intelligence, not learned concepts. So, even if a child does not excel in school, they can perform well on this test.

JobTestPrep offers useful practice material to help prepare your