CogAT Form 7

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - January 29th, 2013

The CogAT, or Cognitive Abilities Test, is an IQ assessment exam that is given to children to determine their overall intelligence and to evaluate their “gifted” status. Children who perform well on IQ exams are often placed in gifted and talented programs where they’re exposed to more challenging and engaging curriculums that will help maintain their focus in school and prevent boredom in children that are “more advanced”. This means that the score your child receives on the CogAT plays a central part in determining your child’s academic future.

There are multiple forms of the CogAT, each of which is designed for children in particular age groups or academic grade levels. The CogAT form 7 is the test that is typically administered to second graders, though it may be used with kids in other grades as well. It is designed to assess their rational thinking abilities. The CogAT form 7 is a picture based exam that presents questions in illustrated or graphic format, thereby allowing children with even limited language skills to perform equally well on the exam and demonstrate a more accurate picture of their own intelligence as a result.

This site (link: http://www.thinktonight.com/CogAT_Grade_2_s/117.htm) provides some recommendations for children preparing for the CogAT. One particularly useful piece of advice is to skip areas where your child is already strong. If, in the process of preparing for a test, you find that your child is doing well with a certain skill set or subject area, you can skip that section or study it much less than the other sections. This will give your child more time to prepare for the areas where he is struggling or could do much better with just a bit of practice.

No matter your approach to test prep, be sure to continually assure your child that everything will be OK. Undue stress or anxiety will not help your child’s score, and in fact may hurt it.