CogAT Test Used as a Measure of District Achievement

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - August 11th, 2011

The Cognitive Abilities Test or CogAT, as it is often abbreviated, has long been used as a measure of both individual student intelligence and a measure for overall school district achievement scores. Since its introduction in the 1970s, the CogAT test has been a tool for determining student abilities and potential, but has also been utilized as a means of determining the kind of achievement scores or grades the average student within a school district should exhibit come time for marking grade cards.

In other words, student scores on a CogAT or similar abilities and IQ assessment exam have commonly been used by school districts for decades as a benchmark for the achievement scores that should be attained by a particular school district. This often means that districts in which students test well have set their achievement goals and standards relatively high and those in which students do more poorly or very average on Cognitive Abilities Tests set their standards lower, essentially leaving students in these poorer districts at a disadvantage regarding the promotion of academic growth.