The Cognitive Abilities Test is administered to students in grades 3 and 5 in mid-September. Reasoning abilities have substantial correlations with learning and problem solving, both in and out of school. Cogat’s measurement of 3 different content domains ensures that educators receive a balanced view of the child. Each level of Cogat offers 3 test batteries: Verbal battery, Quantitative battery and Nonverbal battery. Verbal Battery has further 3 sub-tests such as Verbal Classification, Sentence Completion and Verbal Analogies. Quantitative Battery has further 3 sub-tests such as Quantitative Relations, Number Series and Equation Building. Nonverbal Battery has further 3 sub-tests such as Figure Classification, Figure Analogies and Figure Analysis.
Following 3 types of percentile scores are reported from the Cogat Test:
- Age Percentile Rank (APR) indicates the percentage of the students in the same age group whose scores fell below the score obtained by a particular student.
- Grade Percentile Rank (GPR) indicates the percentage of the students in the same grade whose scores fell below the score obtained by a particular student.
- Local Percentile Rank (LPR) indicates the percentage of the students in the local group whose scores fell below the score obtained by a particular student.
Once Parents will receive their child’s snapshot Profile, they can use the interactive tool provided by website to receive a more details of the student’s strength profile. Teachers use Cogat Composite Score to help students learn more effectively. For example, if a student’s score profile shows an uneven pattern of relative strength and weakness, the teacher can provide challenging opportunities for the student to do the kind of thinking he/she does best. The teacher also supports aspects of new tasks that rely on a student’s relative strength. When the student has established a foothold in an area, the teacher can guide him/her to develop the relatively weaker reasoning skill by applying this skill to the familiar task in order to make strengthening the student’s weakness.
How will be these Cogat scores used?
The Cogat Test is generally used for detection for gifted services; however, the information from your child’s Cogat can be helpful to both teachers and parents. For gifted identification, the Cogat Test represents only one assessment in the body of evidence through area of intellectual aptitude/ability. When you receive your child’s Cogat scores, you can have a “profile.” Then browse online websites and input the profile in the “interactive profile system” to get more information about your child’s learning process and strength.
How often will student attend this Cogat Test?
The Cogat is only conducted once, as a screener, in 2nd grade students. If a student enters school after 2nd grade and has one indicator for gifted recognition, then the Cogat is administered. Example: For more information about gifted recognition: You can also visit the School Gifted and Talented Website for more information about gifted recognition in school. The Cogat is not a tool for measuring a student’s intelligence or IQ. Rather, it measures the reason solving skills that have developed during a student’s educational career, even though they have not been explicitly taught. These general Cognitive Ability skills are not specific to any content area, but are skills that are used in all areas of a student’s academic experiences.