CogAT 4th Grade Test Prep, Samples & Tips

• What CogAT Level is Administered to 4th Graders?
• Test Format and Content
• CogAT Form 7 Batteries
• How to Prepare for the CogAT

What CogAT Level is Administered to 4th Graders?

The CogAT Form 7 is a test divided by age levels. The Level 10 is designed for 10-year-old students. Since 10-year-old children are generally in 4th grade, schools often administer the CogAT Test Level 10 to students in the 4th grade.

The CogAT 4th grade is frequently used as an assessment tool for gifted program admissions. The test is used to evaluate verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative abilities. Since much of the CogAT is nonverbal, it is very useful for assessing students who are not native English speakers. It is also an exceptionally effective method used to measure relative academic strengths and weaknesses.

Once students reach the age of ten, they have mastered several of the academic skills learned in previous years, and are capable of understanding more complex questions. The CogAT Level 10 thus has a more difficult format than the lower levels (5/6-8), consisting of more verbal items in the place of pictures and images. It is important for 4th grade students to be well-prepared to be able to resolve challenging verbal questions found on the Level 10.

Test Format and Content

In total, the CogAT Level 10 contains 176 questions. All levels of the CogAT contain three batteries: the Verbal Battery, the Quantitative Battery, and the Nonverbal Battery. These batteries can be administered separately or together, depending on the specific needs of the school or teacher administering the test. Each battery contains three smaller subtests, for a total of nine subtests. See the complete breakdown of the test in the table below:

CogAT Form 7 Batteries

*Primary levels (5/6-8) contain Picture Analogies and Picture Classification. Higher levels contain Verbal Analogies and Verbal Classification.

How to Prepare for the CogAT

The CogAT Level 10 is a difficult test that requires preparation. Make sure your 4th grader is ready for test day by preparing him/her with TestPrep-Online. Our study materials include practice tests and additional sample questions. Check out our CogAT practice tests.

Studying for a test can be stressful if you are not preparing with enough time. Between two and three weeks to prepare should be more than enough to succeed on the CogAT. Remember that the CogAT has three batteries. Some people prefer studying the topics separately and others prefer doing the exam entirely and then reinforcing the topics on which they are the weakest.

You can retake any of the tests over and over and compare your results. Start by trying to solve a question by yourself. If you cannot, look at the explanation carefully and see what the thinking process should be for similar questions. Once you feel you have completely understood the explanation, move on to the next question and try to solve it applying the same logic. Try to think whether you could have realized that an answer choice was obviously wrong after you have read the explanation but using a different justification. The analytical skills employed in ruling out options and fully understanding the solutions can help you tackle the remaining questions more wisely.

Often, you will find the answer either by applying a few tricks that you can learn from the explanation, or even by ruling out different answer choices. Depending on how much time you have until the day of the exam, you can retake the full-length simulation to see how much you can achieve without using the explanations.

Avoid long study sessions. Your brain needs time to assimilate all the information from the questions. Do not try to learn the entire test in two days by doing ten-hour sessions. Instead, you can try studying just a few hours every day, with breaks in-between.

Study at a pace that is comfortable to you. You can either study for one hour and then take a ten-minute break, or study for 30 minutes and take five-minute breaks. You decide your own pace and the best way to study without being stressed is by having ample time to prepare. You can also start by reading the explanations of a few questions, to better understand the way you should think and then try to answer the rest without help.

All of these methods and more are very personal. You should try the different approaches and see which one you find most comfortable. Just remember to go through all the questions and the explanations before the test to have as much information as possible.

Above all, remember that a good rest and a healthy diet contribute help your energy levels and also help you stayed focus for a good, successful study session.

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