In this study, the popular Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Visualization by Rotations (PSVT-R) in isometric drawings was recreated with CAD software that allows 3D solid modeling and rendering to provide more realistic pictorial views. Both the original and the modified PSVT-R tests were given to students and their scores on the two tests were compared to investigate whether there was improvement in performance on spatial visualization tests with realistic 3D views. The study involved 157 first year community college students in engineering and technology majors and 34 high school seniors from a technical careers high school, all of whom were taking an engineering graphics course or a CAD course at the college when taking the tests. The test scores were analyzed in four groups: graphics classes, CAD classes, high school students, and a comparison group. In all four groups, the mean scores of the realistic 3D test were higher than the mean scores of the isometric test, which shows enhanced performance on the spatial visualization test with realistic 3D views. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)