SCAT Test Prep | Improve Scores

Know How the SCAT Test Works

The best way to prepare for the SCAT test is to hone in on these verbal and mathematical skills below, both in educating your child and in practicing similar questions from the test.

Sample Practice Questions for the SCAT

Online Practice Questions for the SCAT Test

Look for examples that test the skills found below in our 100 free practice questions.

Testing Mom Gifted Learning Flash Cards for SCAT Test on Amazon

Testing Mom has SCAT flash cards on Amazon available for all grades! 

• EMPOWER YOUR CHILD TO ACHIEVE HIGHER SCORES ON THE SCAT: Enhance both verbal and math abilities for the Advanced Level SCAT test. Our cards are meticulously crafted by experts and feature indispensable test-taking tips, Create-Your-Own-Analogy exercises, and links to enriching online webinars about the SCAT test.
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VERBAL: Analogies

An analogy is a comparison between two things that may be different in in most respects.  The analogy points out the similarity between the two things.  Teaching your child to solve analogies, such as those assessed on the SCAT test, will help build logical thinking and vocabulary skills.  To work though these practice questions, tell your child to:

• Try to identify the relationship between the first pair of words. Look for the same relationship between words in the answer choices.
• Immediately eliminate word pairs that don’t have the same relationship to narrow down your answer choices.
• Try to put the first pair into a sentence. For example, “hat: head.”  A hat goes on your head.  If an answer choice is “shoes: feet” – Shoes go on your feet.  Or, “George Washington: one-dollar bill.” George Washington is on the one-dollar bill.  If an answer choice is “Abraham Lincoln: five-dollar bill” – Abraham Lincoln is on the five-dollar bill.”
• Consider the parts of speech being used and look for an answer that is consistent. For example, “radio” (noun): “listen” (verb): “TV” (noun): “watch” (verb).
• Look for the best answer. Often, there may be more than one answer that seems like it might be right, but the right answer is the one that best completes the analogy.
• Work on vocabulary skills as well as knowledge/information abilities – this is what your child will need to do well on these analogy questions. For example, vocabulary skills would be needed to identify analogies with words that are synonyms or antonyms. Knowledge/information abilities would be needed to identify analogies that utilize geography, history, science, the arts or other subjects.
• In everyday life, find opportunities to help your child make connections between seemingly unconnected things or ideas. For example, if you see an army of ants “marching” in the dirt, talk to your child about what other groups of creatures might be called such as a pride of lions or a herd of cattle.  If you see someone giving a stranger a seat on a train, talk to your child about other ways people are polite and considerate of each other. Making connections and comparisons is the essence of understanding analogies both for this test and for everyday critical thinking.

MATH: Quantitative

Any student taking the SCAT Quantitative Test must have super strong core math skills. Remember that this is an “above grade level” test, so 2nd and 3rd graders will be asked to solve math questions through the 6th grade level.  4th and 5th graders will need to solve problems meant for 6th – 9th graders.  Students in 6th grade and above will be asked to solve problems through the 12th grade level. The way the test works is that the child will “solve” two problems, and then do a comparison between the different answers.

The test measures mathematical reasoning skills, focusing less on direct computation and more on understanding underlying mathematical concepts and relationships. It covers the following areas:

• Number Theory: This includes topics like prime numbers, factors, multiples, integer properties and more.
• Geometry: This section tests understanding of shapes, areas, volumes, angles, lines and other geometric concepts.
• Algebra: Questions can include topics from basic algebraic equations to more complex problems involving variables.
• Data Analysis: This involves statistics and probability, including topics like mean, median, mode, range, data interpretation from graphs and tables and basic probability.
• Measurement: This covers units of measurement, conversions, time and more.
• Problem-solving: The test includes word problems that require application of mathematical concepts in real-world situations.

Difficulty Level: The test is designed to be above grade level, meaning the math content is more advanced than what is typically taught at the student’s current grade. For instance, if a student is in 4th grade, they will receive a test designed for 5th-6th graders. The purpose of this is to measure a student’s reasoning ability, not what they’ve learned in school.

Test Prep Tips for the Analogy Section on SCAT test

These tips will help familiarize your child with different types of analogies:

• Things that go together – Pair items that are usually found together. For example, peas and carrots, salt and pepper. Make a game of finding pairs around the house.
• Opposites – Teach your child about antonyms like big and small, tall and short. This can also be made into a fun game, or even a treasure hunt for opposites.
• Synonyms – Discuss synonyms such as big and large, unhappy and sad. You could try creating synonym flashcards for this purpose.
• Classifications – Practice classifying things like blue as a color, or a banana as a fruit. Ask your child to classify other items they see daily.
• Object and characteristic – For instance, the sky is blue, or a lemon is sour. This could be a good exercise to do while cooking or grocery shopping.
• Object and location – Examples include car and garage, Rocky Mountains and Colorado. Consider using a map or globes for this.
• Object and function – Such as a pencil is for writing, a shovel is for digging. Use household objects for this exercise.
• Object and action – Examples include snow falls, cars drive. You can use toys or enact scenarios with your child for this.
• Object and group – For example, a dog is part of a pack, a fish is part of a school. This could be tied into a lesson about animal groups.
• Object and outer covering –Like a banana has a peel, a bird has feathers. This is a fun exercise to do while observing nature.
• Performer and action – Have your child pair roles with their actions, such as a surgeon operates, an author writes. They can play-act different professions to make this fun.
• Performer and product – Discuss with your child about different professionals and what they produce – a baker makes bread, a tailor creates suits. Perhaps during a visit to a bakery or while watching a cooking show.
• Cause and effect – This can be easily incorporated into daily life. Examples include: if you overeat, you get a stomachache; if you spin, you get dizzy.
• Problem and solution –Talk about common problems and their solutions, like itch and scratch, or being hungry and eating. This can be a fun discussion during problem-solving situations at home.
• Effort and result – Explain the process of creating something, like writing a book or baking a cake. Maybe even bake a cake together to illustrate this.
• Differences in degrees – Discuss adjectives and their intensified forms such as smart and brilliant, big and mammoth. You could use a thesaurus for this activity.
• Tools of trade – Discuss different professions and the tools they use. For instance, a carpenter uses a hammer, an entomologist studies insects.
• Part and whole – Talk about how smaller parts make up a whole – a finger is part of a hand, a petal is part of a flower. A nature walk can be a great way to illustrate this.
• Steps in a process – Help your child understand sequences like cook and eat, earn and spend. This can be done through activities like cooking or playing shop.
• Hierarchy – Discuss different hierarchies like the value of coins (penny and nickel) or the relationship between a city and a state.
• Ingredient and end product – Help your child understand the transformation of ingredients to end products like flour to a cookie, eggs to an omelet. A practical baking session can be beneficial here.
• Symbols and what they represent – Discuss symbols like the American flag representing freedom or a 4-leaf clover symbolizing luck. You can use flashcards or drawings for this.
• Verb tense – Play with verb tenses like eat and ate, build and built. Sentence construction games can be helpful for this.
• Rhyme – Make a fun rhyme game with words like bled and instead, greed and speed. This could be incorporated into a poetry reading or songwriting session.
• Sound alike words (homophones) – Discuss words that sound alike but have different meanings, like hair and hare, addition and edition. Reading aloud can be a good way to pick up on these.
• Information analogies (i.e. history, geography, science, etc.) – Discuss historical or factual analogies like the capital city and state, inventor and invention. This could be tied into social studies or science homework.

Tell us about your experiences

5 Responses

marie saywell

As far as I can see, there is no test for student in grade 10. you only seem to cater of lower grades with birthday years post 2005

Could you tell me where I can find sample tests for grade 10

many thanks

Marie

London

Manisha

Good Morning. My son is taking the SCAT in April. I would like better prepare him for the test. Although he is in 7th grade he is required to take the advanced SCAT test, which I believe tests abilities at the high school grade.

Do you offer a reveiw specific for the SCAT -Advanced level?

Zhang

Hi, my son is in grade 7 and he need take advenced scat. how can i get some practice questions for advented level?

clee79@yahoo.com

Do I have to be a member to receive the 100 sample questions? Can I just buy the 100 sample questions instead of becoming a yearly member? Thanks

TestingMom.com

Hi Clee,

Our 100 Free Questions are a great sampling from many of the tests we support. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to access the 100 Free Practice Questions (No purchase necessary):

Go to www.testingmom.com and log in using your email address and password.
Once you are logged in, click the “100 FREE QUESTIONS” button on the left-hand side of the page Or, you can follow this link: 100 Free Questions.
Once redirected, you will see a large, blue box that reads “FREE QUESTIONS.” Click the orange button that reads “UNLOCK NOW.”

We look forward to having you onboard with us!

Best regards,

Marcus

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