# CogAT Paper Folding, explained for parents > In Paper Folding, a sheet of paper is folded, holes are punched through it, and your child picks what the paper looks like when it is opened up. It is a picture-only puzzle about imagining the unfolding in your head. Source: https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/paper-folding/ · Thinkling parent guide · Updated 2026-10-18 ## Key takeaways - Paper Folding uses the same pictures at every grade: teacher-paced with directions read aloud in K–2, and timed at 10 minutes from 3rd grade (Level 9). - Each fold doubles the layers, so a hole punched through paper folded in half opens into two holes, mirrored at the same distance from the fold line. - Unfold in reverse order, last fold first; a hole right on the fold opens into one hole, and a shape cut along the fold comes out whole. - Common mistakes are keeping the same number of holes as were punched, sliding holes instead of mirroring them, and unfolding in the wrong order. - Real paper is the best practice: fold, punch or snip, have your child predict the result before opening it, then compare. It is not on the Screening Form. ## What a Paper Folding question looks like Each question shows a sheet of paper being folded, then holes punched through the folded paper. Your child chooses the picture that shows the paper after it has been opened all the way. Nothing is written, so the format looks the same from kindergarten to 5th grade. Paper Folding is one of three subtests in the [CogAT®](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/) Nonverbal battery, together with [Figure Matrices](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/figure-matrices/) and [Figure Classification](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/figure-classification/). It is not on the [CogAT Screening Form](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/screener/). ### The same pictures at every level At Levels 5/6, 7 and 8 (kindergarten to 2nd grade), the teacher reads the directions aloud and paces the group. From Level 9 (usually [3rd grade](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/3rd-grade/)), children work on their own and the subtest is timed at 10 minutes. The puzzles stay picture-based throughout; they get harder as children get older, for example with more folds and more holes to keep track of. > **Sample question: Paper Folding · K–5** > > A square sheet is folded in half and two holes are punched. How will it look when it is unfolded? > > **Answer: C.** Each hole goes through both layers, so every hole appears twice, mirrored across the fold line: four holes in all. In the sample, a square sheet is folded in half from top to bottom, and two holes are punched. The folded paper has two layers, so each hole goes through twice: when it is opened, there are four holes. The new holes are mirror images of the first ones, reflected across the fold line. ## What it trains Paper Folding is a spatial visualization task. Your child has to hold a picture in mind, change it by unfolding it, and keep track of where everything ends up. It also involves symmetry. Every fold is a mirror line, and anything punched or cut near it shows up on both sides. Hands-on folding at home can make these pictures much easier to imagine, because your child has seen the real thing happen. ## How many questions there are Paper Folding has fewer questions than most other subtests. The table shows the counts for each level of CogAT Form 7 and Form 8: **Paper Folding: number of questions by CogAT level (Form 7/8)** | Level | 5/6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10–11 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Usual grade | K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th–5th | | Questions | 10 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | | Timing | Read aloud, teacher-paced | 10 minutes | | | | ## The folding rules to know - **Each fold doubles the layers.** Fold in half once and every hole becomes two; fold in half twice and every hole becomes four. - **Holes mirror across the fold.** A hole close to the fold line stays just as close on the other side; a hole far from the fold stays just as far. - **Unfold in reverse order.** With two folds, open the last fold first, then the first one. - **A hole right on the fold opens into one hole.** Half a circle punched on the fold line becomes one whole circle, not two. - **Shapes cut along the fold come out whole.** Half a heart cut on the fold opens into a full heart. Some practice questions use cuts instead of a hole punch to train the same mirror thinking. In the sample below, a folded sheet has two shapes cut along the fold. What will it look like opened? > **Sample question: Paper Folding (cuts) · K–5** > > The folded paper is cut along the fold. What does it look like unfolded? > > **Answer: C.** A cut on the fold opens up into a shape twice as big: the triangle becomes a diamond and the half-rectangle becomes a square. Each cut shape is doubled across the fold, so the triangle opens into a diamond and the small rectangle opens into a square. If your child is unsure, fold a scrap of paper and try the same two cuts. ## A simple routine for solving them 1. **Find the fold line.** Point to it. That is the mirror. 2. **Count the layers.** How many layers did the punch go through? That is how many copies of each hole there will be. 3. **Unfold one step at a time.** Start with the last fold. Mirror each hole across that fold line, then move to the next fold. 4. **Check the count, then the positions.** Rule out choices with the wrong number of holes first, then any with holes in the wrong places. Nothing beats real paper. Fold a sheet, punch or snip it, and ask your child to predict the result **before** opening it. Then open it together and compare. ## Common mistakes and how to fix them ### Forgetting that holes multiply A common slip is choosing the picture with the same number of holes that were punched. Counting layers (step 2) is the fix: two layers, twice the holes. ### Sliding instead of flipping Some children copy the holes to the wrong side, or shift them over instead of mirroring them. Have your child trace the fold line with a finger and “flip” each hole over it, keeping the same distance from the line. ### Unfolding in the wrong order With two folds, opening the first fold first scrambles the result. Practicing with real paper shows why the last fold has to come undone first. ## Practice ideas for home - **Predict and punch:** fold a sheet once, punch one hole, and ask how many holes there will be and where. Then try two folds. - **Snowflakes and hearts:** cut half a heart on a fold, or snip a folded paper snowflake, and talk about why the shape comes out whole. - **Draw the unfold:** after folding and punching, have your child draw their guess on a second, unfolded sheet before opening the real one. - **Mirror games:** stand a small mirror on the middle line of half a drawing and watch the whole shape appear. When your child misses a Paper Folding question in Thinkling, the paper unfolds on screen so they can see where each hole goes, and then they try again. Questions are fresh every time and adapt to your child’s level. For a full picture of the test at each age, see the [2nd grade guide](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/2nd-grade/) and our page on [CogAT practice tests](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/practice-test/). ## Frequently asked questions ### How does CogAT Paper Folding work? Your child sees a sheet of paper being folded, then holes punched through the folded paper. The question asks what the paper will look like once it is opened. To answer, your child has to picture the unfolding, keep track of how many layers each hole went through, and place each new hole as a mirror image across the fold line. ### Why is paper folding hard for young children? It asks children to change a picture in their head, a skill that grows with experience. Many young children have rarely folded and punched paper themselves, so they have no picture to draw on. A few sessions with real paper, a hole punch and safety scissors often make the questions feel far more familiar. ### Is Paper Folding on the CogAT Screening Form? No. The Screening Form includes only one nonverbal subtest, Figure Matrices, along with Verbal Analogies and Number Analogies. Paper Folding is part of the full Nonverbal battery, together with Figure Matrices and Figure Classification. Ask your school or district which form your child will take. ### How many holes appear when paper is folded twice? If a sheet is folded in half twice, it has four layers, so one punched hole becomes four holes when opened, unless the hole sits right on a fold. The holes come out symmetrical: unfold the last fold first and mirror each hole across it, then unfold the first fold and mirror everything again. ### What everyday activities help with paper folding? Folding paper snowflakes, cutting hearts from folded paper and punching holes in folded scrap paper all help. The key is to predict before opening: ask your child how many holes there will be and where, then unfold and compare. Simple origami and paper airplanes also build comfort with folds and symmetry. --- CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC. OLSAT® and NNAT® are trademarks, in the US and/or other countries, of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). Other test names mentioned on this site (such as MAP Growth, the Iowa Assessments and the WISC-V) are trademarks of their respective owners. These trademark holders are not affiliated with, and do not sponsor or endorse, Thinkling. All questions are original.