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CogAT

What is the CogAT?

The CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) measures a child's ability to reason and apply previous knowledge to new situations. The CogAT measures learned reasoning and problem-solving skills in three different areas in grades K-12. In Duplin County Schools, the CogAT is administered to all students in Grade 3 to determine students' eligibility for the AIG program. However, the CogAT can be administered to any K-2 student when a student has been referred to the AIG department. 

 In Grades K-2, the teacher reads all the sample and test items to the students. All of the questions are multiple-choice with four pictorial answer choices; therefore, no reading skills are necessary. Students mark their answers directly in their test booklets under the picture they have chosen for the correct answer. The CogAT is not a timed test in Grades K-2.

 For Grade 3, the teacher reads the directions, leads students through the sample problems, then the students work through the test independently, recording answers on "bubble sheets." The test is timed in Grade 3. The student is given ten minutes to complete each section within each battery.

Is the CogAT an IQ test?  

No, it measures reasoning abilities.

Is the CogAT a measure of achievement?

No, it is a measure of reasoning ability in specific aptitude areas.

What are the areas in the CogAT?

Grades K-2

VERBAL Battery 

  • Oral Vocabulary
  • Verbal Reasoning

 QUANTITATIVE Battery

  • Relational Concepts
  • Quantitative Concepts

NONVERBAL Battery

  • Figure Classification
  • Matrices

 Grade 3

VERBAL Battery 

  • Verbal Analogies
  • Sentence Completion
  • Verbal Classification                                           

QUANTITATIVE Battery

  • Number Analogies
  • Number Puzzles
  • Number Series

 NONVERBAL Battery

  • Figure Matrices
  • Paper Folding
  • Figure Classification

How do the three batteries of the CogAT in Grades K-2 differ?

 Verbal Battery:

In Grades K-2, the Verbal Battery consists of two subtests that appraise verbal reasoning, problem-solving, and verbal comprehension. It is a measure of verbal abilities.

Oral Vocabulary: measures the size and depth of a student's general vocabulary.

Verbal Reasoning:  measures inductive, deductive, and general verbal reasoning abilities by using situations commonly encountered by young children and requiring them to make inferences, judgments, or to remember sequences. 

Quantitative Battery:

The two quantitative subtests appraise general abstract reasoning skills, particularly inductive reasoning and specific mathematical reasoning skills. It is a measure of math abilities.

Relational Concepts: measures judgments of relative position, size or amount.

Quantitative Concepts: requires students to solve simple story problems and complete mathematical series problems.

Nonverbal Battery:

The two subtests on the Nonverbal Battery are Figure Classification and Matrices, and they appraise inductive reasoning skills. It assesses a student's ability in spatial and abstract thinking. This reasoning also refers to how well students solve problems using shapes and figures. This battery differs from the Verbal and Quantitative batteries in that it does not require the student to use information gained from other experiences to solve a problem.       

Figure Classification: requires students to detect the essential similarities among the figures, generate the rule or principle that explains the relationship, and select the answer picture that goes with the given figures.

 Matrices: determines the relationships among three given elements and selects the picture that completes the matrix.

When is the CogAT given?

In Duplin County, the CogAT is given as a whole group setting to 3rd-grade students in early spring of each school year. 

How is the CogAT used?

The CogAT is used to determine eligibility for the gifted identification and placement and identifying students whose predicted levels of achievement differ markedly from their observed levels of achievement (grades, benchmark tests, etc.).

Reasoning abilities have substantial correlations with learning and problem-solving. CogAT's measurement of three different content domains ensures educators receive a balanced view of the child, especially when coupled with measures of school achievement.

The CogAT is a measure of each student's level of cognitive development.  

In the Duplin County Schools' AIG Plan, CogAt scores are included as criteria for gifted identification and placement. The Gifted Identification Team utilizes the student's CogAT score when considering placement for the gifted program as follows:

Grades K-3

Intellectually Gifted (IG)

  • >98th percentile composite score on aptitude test

 Grades 4-12

Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AI)

  • >90th percentile composite score on aptitude test

 Intellectually Gifted (IG)

  • >96th percentile composite score on aptitude test

                                      OR

  • >90th percentile composite score on aptitude test AND

          >90th percentile score on non-verbal aptitude subtest

 Academically Gifted in both Reading and Math, Reading, or Math (AG, AR, AM)

  • >90th percentile in verbal or quantitative subtest on aptitude test AND

           >93 yearly/course average in matching subtest