Overview 

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is a multiple-choice K-12 assessment that measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions.  The CogAT is a group-administered aptitude test commonly given as an entrance exam into school’s gifted programs.

 

Timing

The CogAT is given at different times of the year across the United States with metropolitan areas having the highest concentration of parents looking to prepare their children for the test. Major areas that administer the CogAT include Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, Baltimore, Atlanta, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington DC, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston and San Antonio.

 

Test Structure

The CogAT consists of a verbal battery, quantitative battery, and nonverbal battery. Each battery is a separate section of the test containing 3 different types of questions that cover unique cognitive abilities.

Content
The CogAT consists of a verbal battery, quantitative battery, and nonverbal battery. Each battery is a separate section of the test containing 3 different types of questions that cover unique cognitive abilities.

    Verbal Battery       Quantitative Battery        Non-Verbal Battery
Picture Analogies        Number Analogies        Figure Matrices
Sentence Completion        Number Puzzles        Paper Folding
Picture Classification        Number Series        Figure Classification

 

VERBAL BATTERY

Picture Analogies | These visual based questions make use of 2×2 matrix with 3 pictures and 1 empty cell. Students are required to examine the 2 pictures on top so to their point of relation. This section comprises 14 questions and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Sentence Completion | Students are required to listen to a sentence or question and select the picture that best satisfies the sentence or answers the question. This section is made up of 14 questions and takes approximately 14 minutes.

Picture Classification | Students examine 3 pictures on top and determine how they are alike. Then, they must choose the 1 picture on the bottom that belongs in the same group. This section is composed of 14 questions and takes approximately 14 minutes to complete.

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QUANTITATIVE BATTERY
Number Analogies | These require the same thought processes as Picture Analogies except instead of verbal concepts, students must identify relationships between quantitative concepts. Like the verbal battery, this section consists of 14 questions and takes 13 minutes.
 

Number Puzzles | Students see 2 trains. They must select the answer picture that makes the second train carry the same number of objects as the first train. This section includes 10 questions and takes 11 minutes.

 

Number Series | Each question shows an abacus with a bead pattern. Students must rely on their patterning skills and select the string of beads that comes next in the sequence. 14 questions. Approximately 10 minutes.

 

NON-VERBAL BATTERY
Figure Matrices | These figure analogies require the same thought processes as Picture and Number Analogies. Still, instead of verbal or quantitative concepts, students must identify relationships between spatial forms. By studying and identifying distinct points of relation between previous figures, students can asses possible answer choices. This section consists of 14 questions and takes approximately 11 minutes to complete.

 

Paper Folding | Students must imagine what will happen to a piece of paper that is folded, then cut or hole-punched in some way, and then unfolded. The TestingMom.com website has a fun, animated game to help students with this subtest. This section consists of 10 questions and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Figure Classification | These require the same thought process as Picture Classification, except instead of inferring relationships between pictures, students infer relationships between shapes and figures. They then must find the answer on the bottom that belongs with the group on top. This section includes 14 questions and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Administration

There are 14 different levels of the CogAT that vary in difficulty, number of questions, question types, and length. Your child’s age determines which CogAT level they are tested with.

• Questions are multiple choice

• Can be administered online or with paper-and-pencil

• Students are typically tested in groups of around 20

• The 3 batteries are usually given together (but they can be administered individually)

• Administered by a test proctor who is a school counselor or teacher

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It’s important to ask your child’s school which CogAT level they will be administering. Schools can choose to administer an above grade level test if they are looking for highly gifted students. They may also choose to give a below grade level test if students are being tested at the beginning of the year. 

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Scoring

Age norms span from 4 years and 11 months through 18 years old, in which students are grouped in one month intervals. Age and grade scores will often be very similar. However, using age norms can be more accurate when assessing children who are very young or old for their grade level.

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Scores for the CogAT are calculated in a number of steps. First, the raw score is calculated by tallying the total number of questions answered correctly. Raw scores are then converted to Universal Scale Scores (USS) for each of the three batteries, which is then used to calculate the Standard Age Score (SAS), percentile rank, and stanine score. Using these scores, along with an analysis of the patterns present in a student’s score, a student is given a score profile.