CogAT

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)  is administered online. In an in-person environment, the proctor may deliver directions or instructions OR they may opt for the audio administration. In the remote environment, students will receive an audio administration fed through the testing platform to provide a level of standardization. The test will include sample questions that allows for checks for understanding. Students will see one question per screen and move at their own pace. 

The full battery test takes a maximum of two hours to complete (unless a student has a documented time extension accommodation).  The nonverbal battery takes around 30 minutes to complete (more if including breaks). 

The Full CogAT includes nine total tests: 

• three subtests in verbal reasoning

  • 1st grade: subtests include picture analogies, sentence completion, picture classification

  • 3rd grade and older: subtests include verbal analogies, sentence completion, verbal classification

• three subtests in quantitative reasoning

  • Subtests include: number analogies, number puzzles, number series

• three subtests in nonverbal reasoning 

  • Subtests include: figure matrices, paper folding, figure classification

With the exception of the Kinder-2nd grade tests, which require proctors to read and  advance each question to the students, the 3rd-7th grade tests fall into 10 minute increments for each subtest (unless a 504/IEP specifies time and a half, double time, or untimed.

The CogAT is a norm-referenced test, meaning your child’s performance is compared with a nationally representative sample of students who took the tests. The scores are reported in age percentiles, which compare your child’s results to those of a group of children of the same age chosen to be representative of the U.S. population. Percentile rank tells you what percentage of students of the same age scored the same or below your child. If a student scores at the 90th percentile, that means that he or she scored the same or better than 90% of the students of the same age.

Click here for the Parent's Guide to Assessments: CogAT

Need another language for the Parent Guide? Click here

Virtual-only Testing Notes: In rare circumstances, we can administer the CogAT in a remote environment. All remote-only testing will require students to use a laptop or Chromebook to access the browser based test on http://riversideonlinetest.com. Students in this environment will be required to have a teleconferencing tool with video and audio on so that the proctor can monitor the testing environment and communicate with the student. Click here for the home guide for setting up the remote test. Click here for the Riverside Home Remote Testing Guidelines.

Families in remote only will need to complete the legally binding testing agreement before testing can be completed.

Examples

Verbal Questions

This is typical of a question asked of a 1st grader. The question would be delivered verbally: A boy goes with a house in the same way that a bird goes with what?

Students would touch their answer, which would be birdhouse

This is typical of a question asked of a student from 3rd grade on. 

The answer is B. magazine because it is similar to the other types of reading material

Quantitative Questions

The quantitative section includes questions that require students to complete some mathematical equations and pattern completion

This is an example of a pattern question that students in the younger grade levels could expect to see. The pattern repeats and then adds two beads. The correct answer would be the first bubble with seven beads.

Younger students (1st graders) can expect to see mathematical problems represented with images. The proctor will explain that the first train has two cars with cargo and that the student needs to make the second train carry the same amount.

In this example, the student will see that the first train is carrying a total of 9 red boxes. They will then choose the answer that would allow for the second train to carry the same number, so they would select the last train car for the correct answer. 

Older students can expect to see typical mathematical problems where they must solve for a question mark or symbol.

In this case, the answer would be A since 4 + 7 = 11

Nonverbal Questions

Students can expect to see questions such as this one. Taking clues from the first line, students should choose option C because it is a solid color and split in half just as the triangle above it.

All students will answer the paper folding questions in this section. It requires students to think about what a piece of paper will look like if folded and cut/modified in a certain way.

In this example, students should select answer C since a folded piece of paper with a hole punched through it, when opened, will have two holes at the bottom of the page