It is known that the topic of developing the intellectual abilities of primary school students is always relevant, therefore in modern education it is necessary to carefully study effective teaching methods that contribute to the development of the child’s mind and the formation of cognitive skills.

This article analyzes scientific works related to the development of mental intelligence of primary schoolchildren, and shows the results of pedagogical and psychological diagnostics that help to understand the cognitive structure. For diagnostics, we used the Raven intellectual test, consisting of three series and 12 matrices, and the method of E.F. Zambitsavichene to determine the level of mental development of children 7-9 years old (adapted version by M.V. Nazyn-oola).

The main objective of the test is to determine the approximate level of development of the test subject’s mental intelligence. To verify the reliability and internal compliance of the test used, variance, standard deviation methods were used, and the results of the analysis were shown. The results of the analysis showed that there are a number of difficulties associated with studying the development of mental intelligence in primary school students.

The test results prove that the use of traditional teaching methods does not take into account the characteristics of the cognitive development of primary school students, that is, the diagnostic results confirm the need for constant research to develop effective teaching methods for the development of students' mental intelligence. The article also proposes the idea of developing students’ consciousness using neurodidactic methods as a way to solve these problems. We think that with the help of neurodidactic methods and neuroexercises it will be possible to reveal the full intellectual potential of primary school students.