Eligibility/ identification process for pull-out Enrichment grades 4-6:

  1. CogAT score: Minimum of 126

  2. Exceeding grade level expectations: Including but not limited to: consistent A’s on report card, exceeding grade level expectations on state and/or district tests and assessments

  3. Teacher recommendation: 3rd grade teachers will complete a checklist/questionnaire based on the student's approach to learning in the classroom.

  4. Parent recommendation and permission to take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT is a reasoning test).

    1. *Note: Families may notice there are resources available online to study for the CogAT. It is recommended that students do not study for this assessment as it is a test designed to measure a child’s innate reasoning skills rather than a child memorizing reasoning skills that lead to inaccurate results.

The purpose of the CogAT

  • The CogAT is an aptitude test, not an achievement test, meaning it is designed to measure a student's ability to reason and solve problems.

  • It assesses cognitive skills in areas like verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning, rather than what has been memorized from coursework.

  • The results are used to identify students who may need more challenging or advanced academic programs. 

What is the CogAT Test?

The CogAT is divided into three main parts, called batteries: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Nonverbal Reasoning. Each battery has three subtests, resulting in a total of nine subtests that assess different cognitive skills. 

Verbal Battery

  • Sentence Completion: Completes a sentence by choosing the best word or picture.

  • Picture/Verbal Analogies: Identifies a relationship between two pictures and applies it to find a third.

  • Picture/Verbal Classification: Determines how three pictures are alike and then finds the picture that fits the same category. 

Quantitative Battery

  • Number Analogies: Identifies a relationship between two sets of numbers and applies it to a third set.

  • Number Puzzles: Solves mathematical equations that are represented by pictures.

  • Number Series: Determines the pattern in a sequence of numbers and chooses the next number in the sequence. 

Nonverbal Battery

  • Figure Matrices: Similar to Picture Analogies, this test uses spatial forms instead of words or pictures to assess visual reasoning.

  • Figure Classification: Similar to Picture Classification, this test uses visual shapes to see how they are alike.

  • Paper Folding: Imagine how a paper will look after it is folded, cut, and then unfolded. 

The score breakdown that families will see in the CogAT results letter:

Percentile Rank: This shows how a student's score compares to other students their age. A score of 95th percentile means the student scored higher than 95% of their peers. 

Standard Age Score (SAS): This is another way to report scores, with 100 being the average learner.. A SAS of 130 or higher typically signifies superior cognitive ability.