Taking a CogAT practice test is the top method for success! Students perform better through preparation so taking a practice test will greatly boost their score.
The following free CogAT practice tests have been updated for 2023 to reflect questions that your child will see on the real test. Every question is taken directly from specific sections of the test to ensure all areas are covered.
Finally, using CogAT sample questions shows your child what to expect for their specific grade level.
Summary: Use a CogAT practice test to prepare for the actual exam.
CogAT Practice Tests
| Grade | Resource |
| Kindergarten | Sample Test |
| 1st Grade | Sample Test |
| 2nd Grade | Sample Test |
| 3rd Grade | Sample Test |
| 4th Grade | Sample Test |
| 5th Grade | Sample Test |
| 6th Grade | Sample Test |
| 7th Grade | Sample Test |
| 8th Grade | Sample Test |
Recommended CogAT Prep
If you want some more in-depth study materials, try our recommended CogAT prep course.
Learn More About CogAT Practice Tests
- CogAT Kindergarten Practice Test
- CogAT 1st Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 2nd Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 3rd Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 4th Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 5th Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 6th Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 7th Grade Practice Test
- CogAT 8th Grade Practice Test
What is the CogAT Test?
The CogAT test is multiple-choice and is developed in a way to test a student’s academic aptitude. It reveals where a student stands in comparison to their peers. As a result, they are able to get the most of their education.
Students can expect to see three sections (known as batteries):
- Verbal Battery
- Quantitative Battery
- Nonverbal Battery
The only part of this test that isn’t standardized is the way in which these batteries are administered. Some schools put them all together while others will have a separate test for each.
CogAT Test Structure
Taking a CogAT practice test will prepare your child for the structure of this test. It’s administered to grades K-12 so each version will be quite different. Overall though, all versions follow a consistent structure.
First and foremost, the test is comprised of three batteries that will take anywhere from 10 to 24 minutes to complete. Additionally, students will be administered a different edition depending on their grade level. Grades K-2 are given the Primary Edition while students in grades 3-12 are given the Multilevel Edition.
This makes it important to find the right free CogAT test – where we come in!
Verbal Battery Section
This section of the CogAT tests a student’s flexibility and fluency in solving verbal problems. Both of these play highly valuable roles in critical thinking, reading comprehension, writing, communication, and pretty much all of their verbal skills.
Quantitative Battery Section
Students are given questions to further test their reasoning skills. Questions in this section all deal with the quantitative concepts where students are expected to show their ability to organize and provide context to unordered numerical and mathematical symbols.
Nonverbal Battery Section
The nonverbal battery section tests a student’s ability to organize geometric shapes and figures. This forces students to prove that they understand context by inventing strategies that are used to solve novel problems. Students will have to be flexible in their implementation of these strategies.
All three of these sections have specific questions that will help your child prepare by solving problems. The idea is to familiarize your child with the format of the test and help them set their expectations for test day. There is no need to test specific vocabulary words or subjects since the CogAT does not evaluate subject comprehension.
Types of CogAT Practice Tests
By having your child take a practice test, you’re ensuring that they will not stressed out when presented with the real thing. Scoring high on this test is not the primary benefit of taking a practice test. You are also helping your child develop critical thinking skills!
CogAT Kindergarten Practice Test
Expect to find simple exercises in this version of the CogAT practice test. It’s designed to reveal students’ basic cognitive abilities.
CogAT 1st Grade Practice Test
First-graders get tested with the CogAT Level 7 exam so expect a practice test to provide questions that fall under this category. They are fairly straight-forward but will ensure your child knows what to expect.
CogAT 2nd Grade Practice Test
This version of the practice test moves up a level but still follows a basic approach designed to reveal a student’s cognitive abilities. These questions are only slightly more difficult, calling under Level 8 of the exam.
CogAT 3rd Grade Practice Test
This is where the difficult slightly picks up. The 3rd grade CogAT practice test will provide a detailed look at what to expect from the actual level 9 version of the exam.
CogAT 4th Grade Practice Test
This is a full-length practice test that contains the exact same number of questions as the actual exam. Each question will be the same difficulty as the level 10 version of the exam.
CogAT 5th Grade Practice Test
Here, we start to see the difficulty take a significant spike with each subsequent test. This practice test prepares students for the level 11 version of the CogAT test.
CogAT 6th Grade Practice Test
This full-length practice test contains questions that students will find on the 6th grade (level 12) CogAT test.
CogAT 7th + 8th Grade Practice Test
The 7th and 8th grade iterations of this test both fall under the level 13/14 difficulty and each edition will only include slightly different subject matter. The difficulty is pretty much the same though.
CogAT Test Prep and Study Tips
The key to creating a successful study regimen with children is to make it fun and exciting. Don’t be afraid to switch things up from time to time! Study sessions should be done in short windows with fun activities in between. Also study sessions can be made fun by presenting them as games rather than simply asking questions.
Here are two proven methods to help your child prepare for the CogAT test!
Exercise, Sleep, and Nutrition are Essential
These are the three keys to acing any test for both children and adults! Physical activities get the mind focused, making it much easier to learn. Brain fog from a lack of physical activity makes it much more difficult to retain knowledge.
Additionally, getting the right amount of sleep has the same impact. I cannot overemphasize this enough! Do not ever let your child sacrifice sleep to study more. They won’t retain the information. Also a quick study session before bed is highly effective.
But I feel the biggest and often most overlooked of all three is nutrition. Certain foods promote brain health and these need to be a part of your child’s diet leading up to important exams. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts are all great choices. Nutrition is especially important on test day.
Have Your Child Take a CogAT Practice Test
Practice tests will make test day much easier on your child by removing the stress of uncertainty. Children love familiarity so having them take practice tests on a consistent schedule will ensure they are not caught off-guard on test day.
While a practice test is certainly not the real thing, it’s possible to simulate the experience. Try to have your child take it at the same time of day as the real test will occur. Again, children love familiarity.
CogAT FAQs
How do I prepare for the CogAT test?
The best answer to this question is to have your child take a practice test. Yes, this has been mentioned several times in this guide but that’s only to emphasize just how big of an impact it will have on their success.
Additionally, setting up a consistent study schedule will also help your child’s ability to retain information. Children love consistency.
Finally, getting the proper sleep and replacing junk food with brain foods will also facilitate learning.
What is a good score on a CogAT test?
The CogAt utilizes two specific measurable when calculating a child’s score – age norms and grade norms. Both are designed to weight a student’s score against their peers.
Age norms compare a child’s score to others who are the same age, thus comparing their cognitive abilities to other children of the same age range.
Grade norms are used to assess a student’s score based on their current grade level by comparing it to other test takers who are in the same grade.
The process used for scoring is as follows:
- Raw Score is calculated based on the results of the test.
- Raw Score is then converted into a Universal Scale Score (USS). Additionally, this is broken down into all three batteries.
- Each battery score is further broken down into a Standard Age Score (SAS).
- A student score profile is created using these metrics.
What is considered a “good score” is dependent on how other students perform so no direct answer can be given here.
What questions are on a CogAT test?
There are three batteries (sections) found on the CogAt – Verbal Battery, Quantitative Battery, and Nonverbal Battery. Each of these sections has different types of questions so the best way to address this question is to look at a free practice test to view some CogAT sample questions
With that said, here are some of the types of questions to expect:
- Verbal Battery: Image and Verbal Analogies and Sentence Composition.
- Quantitative Battery: Numerical Analogies, Puzzles, and Series.
- Nonverbal Battery: Paper Folding Exercises, Figure Mediums and Classification.
Can you study for the CogAT?
Yes! CogAT test prep is all about making your child familiar with the contents and layout of the test. Practice makes perfect! It’s also recommended that study time be filled with fun activities that balance learning with engagement!
Finally, when having your child take a CogAT practice test, make sure it’s done at the same time of day as the real test.
Final Thoughts
Using CogAT sample questions will set the expectations of your child going into the real test. Plus it helps parents gauge whether or not their child is ready and if they need additional study time.
