Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)

PSD chooses to universally screen all students at this time in their education because the second grade version of the assessment is highly visual, does not have a time limit, and is read aloud to them via headphones. Testing in the spring of second grade also allows for this data point to be used in a student's body of evidence for potential gifted identification at the start of third grade.

The CogAT is often used for identification for gifted services; however, the information from your child's CogAT can be helpful to both teachers and parents. For gifted identification, the CogAT represents only one assessment in the body of evidence (in the area of intellectual aptitude/ability). When you receive your child's scores, you will receive a Profile Narrative score sheet.

The profile narrative includes the student’s test scores and ability profile. The ability profile provides information about your child’s overall level of performance, as well as the pattern of performance over the three batteries.

For information about your child’s specific ability profile, including suggestions for using the score for instruction, visit The Ability Profile Finder website at https://riversideinsights.com/citc/profile-finder.

1. Once you get to the Ability Profile Finder website, use the dropdown menu to select from nine language options to read the website content.
2. Once you select the language you prefer, enter your child’s codes that are listed on their Profile Narrative score sheet and review your child’s ability profile.

While many students score similarly across the three batteries, even more do not. These students exhibit a relative strength, a relative weakness, or both.

⮚ Students with B profiles have a relative strength or a relative weakness, while students with C and E profiles have both a relative strength and a relative weakness.
⮚ The differences are greater for students with E profiles.
⮚ Because each domain uses a different symbol system and measures a different type of learned reasoning, it is not surprising that many students have mixed abilities.

While learned reasoning abilities are a good predictor of academic achievement, ability and achievement tests measure different kinds of thinking.

⮚ Students who score well on the CogAT are good at solving novel problems.
⮚ Students who score well on achievement tests (e.g. MAP and CMAS) are good at remembering and applying explicitly taught skills and knowledge.

Furthermore, if a student has very high or very low scores, it’s more likely that discrepancies will exist. However, if CogAT scores are significantly higher or lower than achievement scores, you may want to explore the following possible explanations.

⮚ If achievement scores are lower than CogAT scores, the traditional explanation is a lack of student effort or opportunities in schooling. However, other possible explanations are that the student is particularly good at solving novel problems but has not learned to use these reasoning abilities to connect new knowledge and skills to what is already learned, or the student may have specific physical or learning disabilities.
⮚ If achievement scores are higher than CogAT scores, the traditional explanation is the student may have especially good effort and instructional opportunities. However, the student may also have developed problem-solving strategies that work when the context is familiar rather than novel.

The CogAT is not a tool for measuring a student's intelligence or IQ. Rather, it measures the reasoning skills that have developed during a student's educational career, even though they have not been explicitly taught. These general cognitive skills are not specific to any content area, but are skills that are used in all areas of a student's academic experiences.

The CogAT is only given once, as a screener, in 2nd grade to all students. If a student enters Poudre School District after second grade and has never taken the assessment at a previous district, your child's school may choose to have them take the CogAT sometime in grades 3-12.