Mastering the CogAT 8th Grade Test: A Parent’s Ultimate Guide to Success
The Cognitive Abilities Tests (CogAT) are a series of tests meant to evaluate the skills of students based on everything they have learned up to a certain point. The assessments involve verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions that are meant to measure the cognitive development of students. The skills that the students will apply to this test are usually learned both in and out of school.
Learn about the 8th Grade CogAT, what exactly it involves, and the best practice materials and study tips.
Table of Contents
What Is the CogAT Test 8th Grade?
The 8th-grade CogAT test is a method of assessment that will evaluate students’ ability to use the process of elimination, using different solutions to solve multi-step math problems, and how well they can focus. There are many subtests that are used to evaluate different aspects of the student’s knowledge, each with a different range of difficulty or problem-solving requirements.
Usually, the CogAT tests are used to determine whether or not some children will be eligible for gifted or talented programs that their schools offer and can be taken individually or as a group. Additionally, it can be used to determine which students will need some extra academic support. There are many different ways that you can help your child prepare for the test. One way to help them start preparing is by knowing what type of content will be included in the assessments.
What Is Included in the Assessments?
The CogAT has three batteries, each with various types of test questions that are structured to evaluate different aspects of cognitive abilities. Each subsection may take somewhere between 10 to 24 minutes to complete.
The three batteries are:
- The verbal battery
- The nonverbal battery
- The quantitative battery
In the next section, we’ll go into more detail about each battery and what aspects your child will be evaluated on.
Verbal Battery
The verbal battery focuses on testing a student’s overall vocabulary skills, verbal memory, their ability to comprehend passages, match word sequences, and figure out how certain words relate to sentences. In addition, your child can expect picture analogies, sentence completion, and picture classification in this battery.
Non-Verbal Battery
The nonverbal battery focuses on a student’s reasoning skills through the use of visual techniques. For example, your child can expect questions that contain figure matrices, paper folding, and figure classification.
Quantitative Battery
The quantitative battery section uses number-based questions to evaluate a student’s mathematical skills that revolve around numbers, equations, and mathematical sequences. In addition, the quantitative battery contains number analogies, number puzzles, and number series.
Many of these sections will require more than just memorization or simple math skills. Your child should be able to rely on many different learned cognitive skills in order to receive high marks on their assessments. It’s important to understand that the CogAT focuses more on measuring a child’s cognitive abilities in regard to their academic abilities rather than simply relying on things they have learned.
As far as the test administration goes, it will consist of multiple choice questions that can be taken either online or in person with pencil and paper in a group of about 20 students. The teachers, proctors, or school counselors will be the ones who will be administering the test.
While it is possible for each battery to be administered individually, they are most commonly tested simultaneously. In order to know how the testing methods will be, you should check with the school what the format will be like, and if they are taking each battery together or separately. For example, if your child takes the CogAT at an 8th-grade level, they will be given 90 minutes to complete a 176-question test at levels 13-14.
Sample Questions
- Find the word that has the closest relation to this group of words: Sunflower, Daffodil, Petunia
- Paintbrush is to art as pencil is to ___
- Which number comes next in this pattern? 9 18 27 __ 45 54 63
- This paper is going to be folded then punched with holes in this pattern while folded. What will the paper look like when it is unfolded?
- Choose the word that best completes the sentence: “Don’t stay out too late!” Seth’s mother ___.
- The shapes in this first set of images follow a distinct pattern. Choose the answer with the set of shapes that will follow the pattern.
- 10 20 30 40 [ ] 60 70 80 90
- Monday → Wednesday; June → ___
- Choose the number that will fit into this box: 5 x [ ] = 20 + 5
- Tracy took her dog to the ___ because it was time for her dog’s appointment.
- Choose the word that fits with the rest of these words: guitar, violin, bass
- Biology is to living organisms as psychology is to ___
- If a nurse worked 13 hours with a 2-hour break in between, how many hours did they have to rest at home?
- The teacher had to ___ to the parents why she had to put their child on silent lunch.
Scoring
The score that your child will receive will be evaluated based on your child’s age rather than their grade level. The highest possible score that your child can achieve is 160, and the average score is typically a score of 100.
The Standard Age Score, or the SAS, will compare your child’s score to the scores of other children within their same age range. There are a few steps that go into the process of a child’s overall CogAT scores. The steps are the Raw Score, the Universal Scale Score (USS), the Standard Age Score (SAS), the Percentile Rank (PR), and the Stanine (S).
The Raw Score is the score that is reached by tallying up the total number of answers that the students have answered correctly, without being negatively influenced by any incorrect answer. The Universal Scale Score is what the Raw Score is converted to. It is the normal standard score, split individually between the three batteries.
The Standard Age Score is based upon the child’s age and how the scores reflect on their cognitive abilities overall, while the Percentile Rank Score is used to compare each student’s scores to other students in their same age and grade. Finally, the Statine is a scale that ranges from 1 (the lowest) to 9 (the highest), with the scores in between being considered below average, average, or above average.
How to Prepare for the Test?
There are plenty of ways to prepare your child for the CogAT. First, ensure that your child gets to practice with TestPrep-Online. They have all the study guides, practice questions, and even full-length tests that are designed for your child’s age and grade level.
It also helps to create a solid studying routine that will allow your child to have free time and not overwhelm them. If you are able to work at your child’s pace, your child will have a much higher chance of success when test day comes.
Ensure your child gets plenty of free time, rest, and a nutritious diet to feel energized and prepared to take on the CogAT. Tests can make children feel nervous at any age or grade level because they feel pressured by the need to do well. However, spending too much time studying can make them dread the test. They may even become more bored and unfocused if their workload is too heavy. Do whatever you can to alleviate their stress and help them feel more confident in their own abilities.
It helps to provide your child with a stress-free studying environment. Of course, preparation is key for any event, but overpreparing can do more harm than good. Instead, allow your child to work at their own pace and try to encourage them as much as you can.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that the CogAT consists of questions that will measure your child’s cognitive abilities rather than just solely examining what they have learned in school. Your child’s cognitive development can improve every day through many different methods, and you can help influence their development positively if you put forth the effort. Help your child prepare with TestPrep-Online so they can get familiar with the sample questions and format and feel more confident when facing the actual test.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
