What is the CogAT® (Cognitive Abilities Test)?

What the CogAT® measures

The CogAT® is published by Riverside Insights. It measures how a child reasons in three areas, each with its own battery and its own score:

1. Verbal: reasoning about words and ideas. In the younger levels this is shown with pictures and spoken sentences.
2. Quantitative: reasoning about numbers, amounts, and patterns.
3. Nonverbal: reasoning with shapes, figures, and spatial changes.

It is not a test of what a child learned in class, like a reading or math test. It looks at how a child works out relationships, patterns, and rules, the kind of reasoning gifted programs build on.

Sample question

Try a CogAT® practice question

Listen to the question, then choose the picture that answers it.

Listen

ABCD

A real GateBuddy practice question.

Choose one of the four answers.

Choose an answer

CogAT® levels by grade

Higher levels continue by grade. A district can choose to give a different level than the usual one for a grade, so check your district’s guide or ask your school.

The 2nd grade CogAT® (Level 8)

Level 8 has nine subtests, three in each battery:

The teacher reads the directions aloud, and directions can be given in English or Spanish. Sentence Completion is the only subtest that uses spoken language, and some schools leave it out. Riverside lists about two hours of testing time for Level 8 to help schools plan, usually spread over more than one sitting. Our guide to 2nd grade CogAT® practice walks through each question type.

Screening form or full test?

Some districts give a shorter Screening Form first: three subtests, one from each battery (Picture Analogies, Number Analogies, and Figure Matrices at the younger levels). The screening form reports one overall score. Children who meet the district’s screening score then take the other six subtests, which Riverside calls the Post-Screener, within 30 days. Other districts give the full test to everyone. Your district guide says which approach your district uses.

How CogAT® scores are reported

A CogAT® report compares your child with other children of the same age, and often with the same grade too. The main scores are:

1. Standard Age Score (SAS): a score where 100 is average for a child’s age, on a scale from 50 to 160.
2. Percentile rank: the percent of children in the comparison group who scored lower. Reports can show age percentiles and grade percentiles, which are not the same number.
3. Stanine: a 1 to 9 band, where 9 is the highest.
4. Composite: a combined score across the batteries, often written VQN for Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal.
5. Ability profile: a short code, such as 8B (V+), that summarizes the overall level and whether one battery stands out as a strength or a weakness.

There is no single national CogAT® cutoff for gifted programs. Each district sets its own rule, such as a composite percentile, a score on any one battery, or a mix of measures. Our guide to what score qualifies for GATE explains how districts set those rules.

How the CogAT® compares with the NNAT®

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT®) uses only shapes and patterns. The CogAT® adds verbal and quantitative reasoning, so it covers more kinds of thinking and has more question types to learn. Our NNAT®, CogAT®, and OLSAT® comparison covers the differences side by side.

How to prepare effectively for the CogAT®

Every question type on the 2nd grade CogAT® is new to most children. Practice teaches what each one looks like and ways to approach it, so test day feels familiar instead of surprising.

1. Learn the format first, and talk through the rule after every question. Ask your child what stayed the same and what changed, so the idea carries over to the next question. GateBuddy shows an explanation after every answer, and your child can tap Listen to hear the question and the explanation read aloud.
2. Practice 10 to 15 minutes a day, for as long as you can. Reasoning skills build like a muscle, a little at a time. A few weeks of practice helps, but months of short, steady sessions help more, so start as early as you can. GateBuddy’s short practice sets fit on a school night.
3. Spend extra time on the weakest battery. Most children find one of the three parts harder than the others, often Paper Folding or Number Puzzles at first. GateBuddy’s practice adapts to your child’s answers and keeps verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal progress side by side, so you can see where to focus.
4. Take full practice tests: at least two, and more is better. A full test teaches your child to keep going through nine subtests over more than one sitting, the way test day works. Every GateBuddy plan includes eight complete practice tests for the 2nd grade CogAT®, with progress saved between sections. Take several along the way, and save the last two for the final few weeks as a dress rehearsal.

Districts that give the CogAT® to 2nd graders

• Deer Valley USD, AZ
• Scottsdale USD, AZ
• Long Beach USD, CA
• San Diego Unified, CA
• San Ramon Valley USD, CA
• Jefferson County (Jeffco), CO
• Baltimore County PS, MD
• Montgomery County PS, MD
• Wake County PSS, NC
• Centerville City Schools, OH
• Olentangy Local SD, OH
• South Carolina (statewide), SC
• Prosper ISD, TX
• Loudoun County PS, VA
• Bellevue SD, WA

The CogAT® guide for parents lists every CogAT® district we have researched, with each district’s grades and testing window.