If you are a parent or a student who wishes to know more about the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities) test, this article is for you! CogAT is a multiple-choice K-12 assessment that paves the way to school’s gifted programs.
If you score 98 or above, you are considered to be one of the gifted students. But to properly understand the exam, it’s essential to know the different levels of the CogAT test.
Here, we shall take you through the various levels of the CogAT test and what to expect from each level.
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CogAT exam forms
Before you understand the levels of this exam, you need to know the different exam forms that CogAT has. There are three forms- forms 6, 7, and 8. Forms 6 and 7 are essentially different versions of the same exam.
Form 7 is fairly new and accepted in most schools, whereas form 6 is the older version of the same test and may still be applicable in some high schools. Form 8 is an advanced test paper. Both forms 7 and 8 have verbal skills, but form 8 contains a tougher question set.
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CogAT age levels
One of the major reasons why CogAT is so popular is because the exam levels are all based on the test taker’s age. This means, that a level 8 exam is typically designed for an 8-year-old.
However, if you think you are stronger in the higher levels, you can go for a level 9 exam even if you are 8 years old. It’s very important to consult with school authorities beforehand.
While highly gifted students can take a higher level of exam, some students prefer to take a below-grade level exam at the beginning of their school year.
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Level 5/6
This is the first level of the CogAT test, aimed at students aged 5-6 years. The test consists of 118 questions, and the duration is 2-3 hours. Level 5/6 is the most basic test level, considered the first stepping stone of the entire test series.
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Levels 7 and 8
The next two levels, named levels 7 and 8, are meant for students aged 7 and 8. Level 7 students are in the first grade, while level 8 students belong to the second grade. In the former, there are 136 questions to be solved in 2-3 hours, and in the latter, a student has to solve 154 questions within the same time limit.
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Level 9
Level 9 is meant for students in the 3rd grade. Again, there are 170 questions but the time limit decreases considerably to 90 minutes. Starting from level 9, all the further CogAT test levels are of 90-minute duration.
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Levels 10 to 17/18
Level 10 is the stage from which the questions start to get considerably tougher. For example, in level 10, meant for 4th graders, a student has to solve 176 questions in 90 minutes.
Going up from here, right till level 17/18, the number of questions and the time limit remains the same, but the type of questions get more difficult with each progressing level.
Level 11 is meant for 5th graders, level 12 for 6th graders, level 13/14 for 7th-8th grade students, level 15/16 for 9th and 10th-grade students, and finally, level 17/18 for 11th-12th grade students.
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Practice questions
For each exam level, a student must prepare from the given set of practice questions. This holds especially true for the higher-level exams.
Since the test questions are quite different from the regular school ones, you must get familiar with the question and exam pattern for your CogAT test prep.
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Test batteries
No matter which level of the CogAT exam you plan to take, there will be three test sections or batteries- verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal.
The verbal battery consists of sentence completion and picture analogies, while the quantitative battery has number puzzles and series. Finally, the non-verbal battery has figure classifications and paper folding.
Over to you…
This is the outline of what to expect in the CogAT test. You can take the appropriate CogAT level exam based on your preparedness.
