CogAT® test for children in kindergarten through second grade breakdown has many components

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - July 20th, 2012

Though the CogAT® is designed to test similar abilities in different ages, the fact that it is administered to such a wide range of ages means that the test is different for different age ranges.

The key split is between second and third grade aged children. The CogAT® test for children in kindergarten through second grade breakdown has many components. The test is broken down into the following sections for test prep for the CogAT®:

• Verbal aptitude: oral vocabulary, verbal reasoning.
• Quantitative aptitude: relational concepts, quantitative concepts
• Non-Verbal aptitude: Figure classification, matrices

The big difference is that for the younger age group each section has only two sub-tests, whereas older children have three sub-tests. Here is how the test is broken down for children in third grade through their senior year of high school. Verbal aptitude: verbal classification, sentence completion, verbal analogies.

• Quantitative aptitude: quantitative relations, number series, equation building
• Non-Verbal aptitude: figure classification, figure analogies, figure analysis.

Not only do older children have a different number of skills being tested, some of the subtests they get are different from the ones seen by the younger age group. When preparing your children for the CogAT®, be sure to prepare them for the test matching their age group. While the general skills are similar, the specifics can make a big difference in your child’s score.