CogAT Test Overview

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is the most widely used K-12 test for identifying gifted students in the US. It measures verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning across 14 different levels. Takes 2-3 hours, and scoring in the top 3% nationally usually qualifies for gifted programs.

What Is the CogAT?
The CogAT is THE test for getting into gifted and talented programs across America. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and created by cognitive assessment experts David F. Lohman and Elizabeth P. Hagen, it's designed to uncover how students think, learn, and solve problems - not just what they've memorized in school.

Unlike achievement tests that measure what your kid has learned, the CogAT measures cognitive abilities that research shows predict academic success. Think "how smart is your brain" rather than "how much stuff do you know."

The Three Battery System
1. Verbal Battery: Picture/Verbal Analogies, Sentence Completion, Picture/Verbal Classification
2. Quantitative Battery: Number Analogies, Number Puzzles, Number Series
3. Non-Verbal Battery: Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, Figure Classification

Test Levels and Timing by Grade
Kindergarten: Level 5/6 - 118 questions, 112 minutes
1st Grade: Level 7 - 136 questions, 112 minutes
2nd Grade: Level 8 - 154 questions, 122 minutes
3rd-12th Grade: Levels 9-18 - 170-176 questions, 90 minutes
Current versions are CogAT Form 7 and Form 8, which test the same skills with equivalent difficulty and scoring.

How Schools Use the CogAT
Universal Screening: Many schools test ALL students to avoid missing hidden talent
Objective Assessment: Identifies gifted kids who might not show it in traditional ways
Comprehensive Evaluation: Used alongside achievement tests and teacher recommendations
Differentiated Instruction: Helps identify who needs advanced instruction

Scoring Breakdown
Raw Score → Universal Scale Score → Standard Age Score → Percentile Rank → Stanine Score (1-9)
What's a "Good" Score?
Top 3% nationally (97th percentile or higher) typically qualifies for most gifted programs.

Stanine 9 (96th-99th percentile) = Highly gifted range
Stanine 8 (89th-95th percentile) = Above average, possibly qualifies
Stanine 7 (77th-88th percentile) = Well above average

The Preparation Debate
While the CogAT measures "innate" reasoning skills, familiarity with question types absolutely helps. Practice reduces test anxiety, teaches efficient problem-solving strategies, helps kids recognize patterns quickly, and ensures they can show their actual abilities.
Practice doesn't make your child smarter, but it prevents the test format from masking their true capabilities.

Geographic Hotspots
Most popular in competitive metro areas: Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, Baltimore, Atlanta, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington DC, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, and San Antonio.
TestingMom.com offers comprehensive CogAT prep with hundreds of practice questions for every grade level, all nine question types, interactive practice questions, detailed explanations, and test-taking strategies.

Ready to get started? Try our free 100 questions, then join TestingMom.com for complete preparation. Call 877-609-6203 or email [email protected] for tutoring.
Remember: The CogAT measures reasoning potential, not your child's worth. With proper preparation, your child can walk into that testing room confident and ready to show their true cognitive abilities.


Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®) is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC and its affiliates ("Riverside"). Riverside does not sponsor or endorse any TestingMom.com products or programs, nor has this TestingMom.com product or program been reviewed, certified, or approved by Riverside. The questions used by TestingMom.com are TestingMom.com's own materials, created based on publicly available information, and in no way do they correspond to actual CogAT® testing materials. TestingMom.com uses practice materials only; not actual test questions. Trademarks referring to Riverside are used for nominative purposes only and such trademarks are solely the property of their respective owner.