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National Adult Reading Test 2 (NART-2)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: National Adult Reading Test 2
 
The first edition of the California Verbal Learning Test is also available: National Adult Reading Test 1
Classification
Supplemental: Huntington's Disease (HD)
Short Description of Instrument
Purpose: The National Adult Reading Test 2 (NART-2) is a premorbid intellectual functioning test.
 
Use: Participants are required to read a list of 50 phonetically atypical British English words out loud.
 
Time Estimate: There is no given time limit to administer this test. The participant is encouraged to take their time and the examiner is encouraged to tell the participant to slow down as necessary.
Comments/Special Instructions
The NART-2 uses the same word list as the original version, but the calculations of IQ have been updated for use with the Weschler Abbreviated Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R) (Nelson & Willison, 1991). The NART has also been re-standardized against the WAIS-IV (Bright et al., 2018). The NART-2 is also referred to as the NART-R. Another version of this test, the North American Adult Reading Test (NAART), was developed by Blair and Spreen (1989) that uses a list of 61 American and Canadian English words.
 
Huntington's disease-specific:
The NART-2 has been used in HD but there are better measures for estimates of premorbid intellectual function in this population.
Scoring and Psychometric Properties
Scoring: The participant's error score is the total number of incorrectly read words. If the participant does not finish the task, no score is given. The error score is used to calculate predicted WAIS-R full-scale, verbal and performance IQs (Nelson & Willison, 1991) or WAIS-IV full-scale IQ (Bright et al., 2018).
 
Psychometric Properties: Thomas et al., 2021 summarized the reliability and validity of the NART/NART-2, originally reported in the Nelson and Willison (1991) manual describing the development of the NART-2:
- Excellent split-half reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93) (Nelson & Willison, 1991)
- Excellent inter-rater (0.96-0.98) and test-retest (0.98) reliability (O'Carroll, 1987; Crawford et al., 1989a; Schlosser & Ivison, 1989)
- Demonstrated validity as a measure of general intelligence (Crawford et al., 1989a)
Rationale/Justification
Strengths: The NART-2 is freely available. This test has the potential for remote administration.
 
Weaknesses: The NART-2 is likely to provide the most reliable premorbid estimates in the average range, whilst overestimating IQ in those with very low scores and underestimating those with very high scores.
References
Key References:
Nelson HE. (1982). The national adult reading test - Test manual. Windsor, UK: NFER-Nelson.
 
Nelson HE & Willison JR. (1991). The revised national adult reading test - Test manual. Windsor, UK: NFER-Nelson.
 
Bright P, Hale E, Gooch VJ, Myhill T, van der Linde I. The National Adult Reading Test: restandardisation against the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth edition. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2018 Sep;28(6):1019-1027.
 
Additional References:
Blair JR, Spreen O. Predicting premorbid IQ: A revision of the national adult reading test. Clin Neuropsychol. 1989;3(2):129-136.
 
Brebion G, Bressan RA, David AS, Pilowsky LS. Role of processing speed and premorbid IQ on visual recognition in patients with schizophrenia. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2009 Apr;31(3):302-11.
 
Bright P, Jaldow E, Kopelman MD. The National Adult Reading Test as a measure of premorbid intelligence: a comparison with estimates derived from demographic variables. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2002 Sep;8(6):847-54.
 
Bright P, Hale E, Gooch VJ, Myhill T, van der Linde I. The National Adult Reading Test: restandardisation against the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth edition. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2018 Sep;28(6):1019-1027.
 
Carlozzi NE, Stout JC, Mills JA, Duff K, Beglinger LJ, Aylward EH, Whitlock KB, Solomon AC, Queller S, Langbehn DR, Johnson SA, Paulsen JS; Predict-Hd Investigators Of The Huntington Study Group. Estimating premorbid IQ in the prodromal phase of a neurodegenerative disease. Clin Neuropsychol. 2011 Jul;25(5):757-77.
 
Crawford JR, Parker DM, Besson JAO. Estimation of premorbid intelligence in organic conditions. Br J Psychiatry. 1988 Aug;153:178-181.
 
Crawford JR, Parker DM, Stewart LE, Besson JAO, De Lacy G. Prediction of WAIS IQ with the National Adult Reading Test: Cross-validation and extension. Br J Psychiatry. 1989a Sep;28(3):267-273.
 
Crawford JR, Stewart LE, Parker DM, Besson JAO, Cochrane RHB. Estimation of premorbid intelligence: combing psychometric and demographic approaches improves predictive accuracy. Person Individ Diff. 1989b;10(7):793-796.
 
Friend KB, Grattan L. Use of the North American Adult Reading Test to estimate premorbid intellectual function in patients with multiple sclerosis. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1998 Dec;20(6):846-51.
 
Gladsjo JA, Heaton RK, Palmer BW, Taylor MJ, Jeste DV. Use of oral reading to estimate premorbid intellectual and neuropsychological functioning. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 1999 Mar;5(3):247-54.
 
Mockler D, Riordan J, Sharma T. A comparison of the NART (restandardized) and the NART-R (revised). Br J Clin Psychol. 1996;25:567-572.
 
O'Carroll RE. The inter-rater reliability of the National Adult Reading Test (NART): a pilot study. Br J Clin Psychol. 1987 Sep;26(3):229-30.
 
Robins Wahlin TB, Larsson MU, Luszcz MA, Byrne GJ. WAIS-R features of preclinical Huntington's disease: implications for early detection. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2010;29(4):342-50.
 
Schretlen DJ, Buffington AL, Meyer SM, Pearlson GD. The use of word-reading to estimate "premorbid" ability in cognitive domains other than intelligence. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2005 Oct;11(6):784-7.
 
Schlosser D, Ivison D. Assessing memory deterioration with the Wechsler Memory Scale, the National Adult Reading Test, and the Schonell Graded Word Reading Test. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1989 Dec;11(6):785-92.
 
Taylor R. National Adult Reading Test performance in established dementia. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 1999 Nov-Dec;29(3):291-6.
 
Thomas MD, McGrath A, Sugden N, Weekes C, Skilbeck CE. Investigating the National Adult Reading Test (NART-2) and Wechsler Test of Adult Reading Test (WTAR) in predicting Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence - Second edition (WASI-II) scores in an Australian sample. Australian Psychologist. 2021;56(5):372-381.
 
Watt KJ, O'Carroll RE. Evaluating methods for estimating premorbid intellectual ability in closed head injury. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1999 Apr;66(4):474-9.
 
Document last updated June 2024