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Purpose of Assessment: The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) appraises the cognitive development of students by measuring students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three symbol systems most closely related to success in school: Verbal reasoning, Quantitative reasoning and Nonverbal reasoning. Explore the accordion below to learn more about the assessment.
3 Primary Purposes
- To guide efforts to adapt instruction to the needs and abilities of students.
- To provide a measure of each student’s level of cognitive development that captures important information not represented in school grades or in other measures of school achievement.
- To identify students whose predicted levels of achievement are markedly discrepant from their observed levels of achievement.
Who participates in CogAT?
Students in grade 2-8 who do not have a CogAT ability score
When is the assessment?
Fall 2025
Practice links
There are no official practice opportunities for students.
Understanding scores
Additional Parent Resources
Interactive Ability Profile Interpretation System
This online app was built to enable teachers, counselors, and parents to interpret the Cognitive Abilities TestTM (CogAT) Ability Score Profiles for their students.
CogAT Parent Score Report Cover Letter
Office of Academics
2110 Washington Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22204
December 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This fall, your student recently took the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), which measures verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning skills. These abilities are shaped by experiences both in and out of school.The student report is under Documents in ParentVUE. The results are included in the Individual Profile Narrative and reported as:
- Age Scores: Compare your student’s performance to peers of the same age nationally.
- Grade Scores: Compare your student’s performance to peers in the same grade nationally.
- Raw Scores: Show the number of questions attempted and answered correctly.
Key terms:
- Standard Age Scores: Range from 50–150, with 100 as the average.
- Stanines: Scale of 1–9, with 5 as the midpoint.
- Percentile Ranks: Range from 1–99, showing how your student performed compared to others.
The narrative explains your student’s grade, test date, and general performance, including an overall composite score.Please note that standardized tests provide a snapshot of skills on test days and should not be used alone to make decisions. They are most useful when combined with other information about your student’s learning.If you have any questions about this score report, please contact your student’s school. You may also visit the APS Assessment page at https://www.apsva.us/assessment/.
Sincerely,
Lisa Pellegrino
Director of Assessment
703-228-6155
Cheryl McCullough
Director of Advanced Academics and Talent Development
703-228-6160