The Mental Cutting Test "Schnitte" and the Picture Rotation Test-Two New Measures to Assess Spatial Ability

Two new measures to assess spatial ability are presented: the mental cutting test "Schnitte" (Fay English version: Fay, Quaiser-Pohl, Hinze & Quaiser-Pohl, 2003), a mental rotation test for preschool children. Both overcome some of the limits of traditional spatial ability testing: (a) Most spatial problems are also "visually" and "analytically" solvable, and (b) there is a lack of standardized tests for preschool children. The ideas of both tests are described as well as their developmental processes. In addition, the results of the first evaluations of both tests are reported.