CogAT practice for kindergarten to 3rd grade
The Cognitive Abilities Test looks at how children reason with pictures, numbers and shapes. Levels 5/6 to 8, for kindergarten to 2nd grade, are pictures only, with the directions read aloud, so no reading is needed. Here’s each kind of question, drawn in our own style, and a short practice set.
Try a practice set
Nine puzzles, one of each kind, for the grade your child is in. Tap the speaker on each to hear it.
CogAT-style practice
Nine puzzles like the Level 5/6 test, read aloud, with no clock. A new set every time.
Sit with your child and let them tap. If one is hard, move on.
Levels by grade
| Level | Grade | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 5/6 | Kindergarten | 118 | about 112 minutes, untimed |
| Level 7 | 1st grade | 136 | about 107 minutes, untimed |
| Level 8 | 2nd grade | 156 | about 122 minutes, untimed |
| Level 9 | 3rd grade | 170 | 90 minutes, 10 for each kind |
Levels 5/6, 7 and 8 are paced by the teacher, so their times are the publisher’s estimates. The publisher advises no more than one part at a sitting, with short breaks for young children. Many schools start with a shorter screening form of three kinds (analogies, number analogies and figure matrices), and give the rest to children who pass.
What it measures
Three parts, each with three kinds of question. At Levels 5/6 to 8 the verbal part uses pictures and questions read aloud; from Level 9 it uses printed words, and the quantitative part uses numbers.
| Kind of question | Part | Level 5/6 | Level 7 | Level 8 | Level 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture/Verbal Analogies | Verbal | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 22 questions |
| Sentence Completion | Verbal | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 20 questions |
| Picture/Verbal Classification | Verbal | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 20 questions |
| Number Analogies | Quantitative | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 18 questions |
| Number Puzzles | Quantitative | 10 questions | 12 questions | 14 questions | 16 questions |
| Number Series | Quantitative | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 18 questions |
| Figure Matrices | Nonverbal | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 20 questions |
| Paper Folding | Nonverbal | 10 questions | 12 questions | 16 questions | 16 questions |
| Figure Classification | Nonverbal | 14 questions | 16 questions | 18 questions | 20 questions |
Each kind of question
One of each, at Level 7 (1st grade), with how to think about it.
Picture/Verbal Analogies
A 2 x 2 grid with three pictures and one empty box. The child works out how the two pictures in the top row are related, then picks the picture that goes with the bottom picture in the same way. Called Picture Analogies at Levels 5/6-8 and Verbal Analogies (words) from Level 9.
“Look at the top pictures. They go together. Which picture goes with the bottom picture in the same way?”
?Answer: B. Say the top pair as a sentence, then say the same sentence with the bottom picture. Sentence Completion
The teacher reads a sentence or question aloud in English or Spanish and the child picks the picture that answers it. Optional at Levels 5/6-8; leaving it out gives an Alternate-Verbal score. From Level 9 students read an incomplete sentence themselves.
“Sam's pet is not a rabbit and not a dog. Sam's pet can fly. Which one is Sam's pet?”
Listen to the question.Answer: B. Listen to the whole question before looking, then check each picture against it. Picture/Verbal Classification
The child looks at three pictures in the top row, works out how they are alike, and picks the answer picture that belongs in the same group. Called Picture Classification at Levels 5/6-8 and Verbal Classification (words) from Level 9.
“Look at the three pictures in the top row. They are alike in some way. Which picture goes with them?”
Answer: D. Say what all three are, then find the one that’s the same kind of thing. Number Analogies
A 2 x 2 grid that works like Picture Analogies but uses quantity instead of word meaning. From Level 9 students find the rule shared by two pairs of numbers and apply it to a third number; some Level 9 questions still use the grid.
“Look at the top two boxes. See how the number of things changes. Which box changes the same way in the bottom row?”
?Answer: B. Count both top boxes and say the change (two more, half as many), then make it again. Number Puzzles
Two trains: the child picks the car that makes the second train carry the same number of objects as the first. Level 8 includes some questions in the Level 9 format, which uses equations with a missing number.
“Look at the first train. Which car makes the second train carry the same number of dots as the first train?”
?Answer: B. Count the dots on the first train, then on the second, and find the car that makes up the difference. Number Series
Strings of beads on an abacus make a pattern, and the child picks the string that comes next. From Level 9 the series is written in numbers, though Level 9 still has some bead questions.
“Look at the beads on each rod. They make a pattern. Which rod comes next?”
?Answer: D. Count each rod and say the change from one to the next. Figure Matrices
A 2 x 2 grid of shapes that works like the analogy subtests: the child works out how the top two figures are related and picks the figure that completes the bottom row the same way. Levels 9-11 keep this format.
“Look at the top two boxes. See how the shape changes. Which one changes the same way in the bottom row?”
?Answer: C. Name every change from left to right (size, shading, a turn), then make all of them. Paper Folding
The child imagines a piece of paper being folded, usually cut, and unfolded, and picks how it looks when opened. From Level 9 the paper has holes punched in it instead of cuts.
“Look. The paper is folded on the dashed line, and holes are punched through it. Which picture shows the paper opened out?”
Answer: A. The fold is a mirror: every hole has a partner the same distance from it on the other side. On the real test, Levels 5/6 to 8 usually cut the folded paper. Ours punch holes, as Level 9 does. Figure Classification
The child works out how three figures are alike and picks the answer figure that goes with them.
“Look at the three shapes in the top row. They are alike in some way. Which one goes with them?”
Answer: B. Find the one thing all three share, and check each answer for it.
How it’s scored
A Standard Age Score (with 100 as average), percentile ranks from 1 to 99 and stanines from 1 to 9, comparing your child with children of the same age, by month, or in the same grade. An Ability Profile shows the level and pattern of the three parts. Districts set their own cut-offs: Chandler and Glendale in Arizona look for the 97th percentile or above.
Districts that use it
South Carolina (statewide)
All grade 2 students take CogAT Level 8, Form 8, with the Iowa Assessments, in a window of 5-27 October 2026.
ed.sc.gov/tests/elementary/gifted-and-talented-p…Chandler Unified School District (Arizona)
All second graders are screened with CogAT Form 8 at school, 12-23 October 2026, unless families decline; 97th percentile or above in one of the three areas qualifies.
cusd80.com/departments/gifted-cats/gifted-testin…Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (North Carolina)
Universal screening of second graders with CogAT and i-Ready.
sites.google.com/cms.k12.nc.us/psetd/gifted-iden…Glendale Elementary School District (Arizona)
All second graders take CogAT; 97th percentile on a state-approved test qualifies. NNAT is used to qualify K-12 students for gifted programs, alongside CogAT.
gesd40.org/programs/gifted
How to help, and what to avoid
Do
- Make the kinds of question and the directions familiar. Young children sometimes don’t understand what to do on a task they’ve never seen, with brief directions, and the CogAT’s publisher says practice led by a teacher can make scores more valid and stable.
- Practice little and often over weeks. Frantic cramming at the last minute isn’t usually successful.
- The night before, an early bedtime; on the morning, a good breakfast. Keep a sick child home and ask for another day.
- Tell them to listen carefully to the teacher, stay calm if some questions seem hard, and give their best answer.
Avoid
- Drilling or heavy coaching. The CogAT’s publisher rotates its test forms so that coaching has less effect.
- Reading too much into a score after a lot of practice on the same puzzles: a second NNAT within weeks or months usually scores about 4 points higher from familiarity alone.
- Treating one score as the whole picture. Districts such as Fairfax County weigh a test score as one piece of evidence among several.
From info.riversideinsights.com/hubfs/Cog%20Speakings…, pearsonassessments.com/content/dam/school/global…, greenville.k12.sc.us/News/main.asp?titleid=2310c…, cdn.erblearn.org/www/20260801_E3n_ISEE_QuickFact…, content.govdelivery.com/attachments/VAEDUFCPS/20….
Questions about the CogAT
What is a good CogAT score?
Scores compare a child with children of the same age or grade, and a Standard Age Score of 100 is average. Each district sets its own bar for its gifted program: Chandler and Glendale in Arizona look for the 97th percentile or above.
Is the CogAT timed in kindergarten?
No. Levels 5/6, 7 and 8 are paced by the teacher, who reads the directions aloud. From Level 9 in 3rd grade, each kind of question has 10 minutes.
What is the difference between Form 7 and Form 8?
Form 8 has the same number and kinds of question as Form 7, with all new items, so a school can retest a child with the other form straight away. Scores on the two are directly comparable.
Are these real test questions?
No. Every question here is written by AskThena in the style of each test and made fresh each time. CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT, ISEE and SSAT are trademarks of their publishers, and AskThena isn’t connected with or endorsed by them.
Every question here is written by AskThena in the style of the test and made fresh each time. CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT, ISEE and SSAT are trademarks of their publishers, and AskThena isn’t connected with or endorsed by them.
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