Dear Families,

From November 11-13, first grade students will take the Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®). The purpose of this letter is to inform you about the test so that—with your support and encouragement—your student will do his or her best on the test.

About CogAT

CogAT measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most closely related to success in school: 

• The Verbal Battery measures students’ abilities to reason with verbal images and concepts. These reasoning abilities play an important role in reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, and virtually all verbal learning tasks. 
• The Quantitative Battery measures students’ abilities to reason with quantitative symbols and concepts. These reasoning skills are significantly related to problem solving in mathematics and other disciplines. 
• The Nonverbal Battery measures students’ abilities to reason with geometric shapes and figures. To perform successfully, students must accurately implement strategies for solving novel problems. 

The three separate batteries provide a broad perspective on each student’s learned reasoning abilities, identifying cognitive strengths and weaknesses. 

Each subtest includes practice questions to help students become familiar with the content and format of the subtests. These practice questions help students gain familiarity with the item formats and how to complete the different reasoning tasks. You may also visit the following links to view additional practice questions for each battery before the first day of testing, but it is not required.

Verbal Practice Activities

Quantitative Practice Activities

Nonverbal Practice Activities

No reading is required of students in any of the subtests. Students review the pictorial questions and answer choices and then click the circle under the picture that answers the question. The test is not timed, but each subtest takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

How your student can prepare for test taking—and what you can do to help

You can help your student do his or her best by considering these tips:

• Make sure that your student is in school and on time on test days. Reschedule appointments and other out-of-school time to non-testing days.
• Make sure your student gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy breakfast before each day of testing.

Score reporting and how we use test results 

The school will receive test scores in about 3 weeks. These scores will indicate how your student performed on the test compared with students across the nation who are the same age. 

Student results will be posted for your review in the Skyward Student Portfolio. These scores will be used as data points to help determine what instruction and/or services would be most appropriate for your child. Parents of students performing out of the typical range for first grade students may be contacted through Skyward with additional information from the Special Population teams including Talented and Gifted, English as a Second Language, and Special Education. Parents that receive no recommendations for further action can assume that the student is already receiving appropriate instruction and having success in their current placement.

Once scores are available in Skyward, discuss the test results with your student in a positive way by pointing out his or her strengths.

Thank you for encouraging and supporting your student during testing. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Aimee Hilton, Principal