CogAT 3rd Grade Test Prep, Samples & Tips

On this page, you will find comprehensive and accurate practice packs that will help your child prepare for the 3rd grade CogAT test (Level 9). Our packs include the following components:

  • Full-length CogAT practice tests: Each full-length CogAT practice test is constructed exactly like the real 3rd-grade CogAT test. This helps your child understand his or her overall performance and enables practicing under real-testing conditions. Usually, after taking the first practice test, most students will notice a significant improvement in their performance.
  • Topic-specific CogAT practice drills: There is one drill for each section of the CogAT for 3rd grade. This gives the student the opportunity to improve the topics he or she struggles the most with. For example, if your child struggles with the verbal sections, he or she will be able to practice them further with designated questions.
  • Challenge CogAT drills: Each of these drills contains two questions for each section of the CogAT (with a total of 18 questions per drill). These drills enable advanced students to try very difficult questions, usually used for higher CogAT grades.
  • Math enrichment: We have collected a huge amount of math enrichment questions in various topics, such as computation and word problems. Although these questions do not appear on the actual CogAT test, they are important for developing the general thinking abilities required on the CogAT. 
  • Explanations and detailed score reports: At the end of each practice test and drill, your child will receive a full performance report and could see which questions he or she answered correctly and which incorrectly. In addition, this is the place your child can read a detailed explanation and solution for each question.
  • 3rd-grade CogAT study guide: Highlights all of the information your child needs to know for the upcoming CogAT 3rd-grade test. The guide goes over each section of the test in detail, with elaborated explanations, helpful strategies, and useful techniques.                                                 

Continue reading to find more information about the CogAT 3rd-grade test format and structure.

Looking for the 3rd grade CogAT Screening Form? Check out our 3rd Grade CogAT Screening Form Practice Tests.

CogAT 3rd Grade
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What CogAT Level is Administered to 3rd Graders?

The CogAT Form 7 is administered according to age, thus Level 9 is geared towards nine-year-old students, who are usually in the 3rd grade. Because of this, schools generally administer the CogAT Form 7 Level 9 to students in the 3rd grade.

The CogAT 3rd grade assesses verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative abilities, and is often used for admissions into gifted programs. The CogAT is an especially strong test for measuring relative academic strengths and weaknesses. It is also useful for students who speak English as a second language, as much of the test is nonverbal.

By the time students reach the 3rd grade, most have become proficient in many skills that they have learned in their previous years of education. At this age, most students have developed the necessary skills to deal with the more complex verbal items that appear on higher level CogAT tests. Thus, the CogAT format changes from the lower levels (5/6-8) to Level 9. While the lower levels use pictures and images for the Verbal Battery, Level 9 and up use written verbal items. It is important for 3rd grade children to be ready and able to answer difficult verbal questions on the Level 9 CogAT.


Test Format and Content

The CogAT Level 9 contains 170 total questions. At all levels, the CogAT is comprised of three batteries: the Verbal Battery, the Quantitative Battery, and the Nonverbal Battery. The administering school or teacher may opt to administer the batteries together or separately. The batteries are further divided into three sub-tests, which you can see in the table below.


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With this membership, you will be able to create up to six separate practice accounts. This way, you can give each student an account of their own in which they can practice independently for their upcoming exam.


CogAT Form 7 Batteries

BatterySubtests
QuantitativeNumber Series
Number Puzzles
Number Analogies
Nonverbal
Figure Matrices
Paper Folding
Figure Classification
Verbal
Picture/Verbal Classification*
Picture/Verbal Analogies
Sentence Completion

*Primary levels (5/6-8) have Picture Analogies and Picture Classification instead of the verbal counterparts. Higher levels contain Verbal Analogies and Verbal Classification.


How to Prepare for the CogAT

The CogAT Level 9 is a very difficult test, especially considering the addition of written verbal items. With TestPrep-Online's practice packs, you can make sure that your child is ready for the CogAT. Check out our CogAT practice tests.

Our practice tests include detailed explanations for you to learn the strategies required to solve all the questions. Some of the skills required take time to develop. Perhaps you would benefit more in your study session by investing some time into reading the explanations of two or three questions of each sub-test to really understand the logic that you will be needing for the rest. Once you read one of the complete solutions, you can try rewriting it to check how much you understand the questions. 

After seeing some of the explanations, try doing the full-length simulation by yourself. Take a considerable amount of time to properly learn the explanations and reproducing them. If you have difficulty with a particular sub-test, try focusing more energy into understanding those questions.

You have many ways the study for a test, you just need to find the most comfortable for you. Ideally, you want either two or three weeks to study in a stress-free environment. Do not leave tests for the last day of studying. The day before the test you can go over the full-length simulation or the especially challenging questions that you have found during your study process. Do not get discouraged if you do not succeed in one of the questions.

If you are stuck trying to solve a question, a short break could be the perfect solution to replenish your concentration and energy levels. Try studying at a comfortable pace, and take breaks when necessary. Retake some of the tests for additional practice if you want, and remember you can track your progress in our website.


Free CogAT Sample Questions

Click here for TestPrep-Online’s free CogAT sample questions. The sample questions in the link can give you an idea of what to expect from the CogAT. This includes the level of difficulty to expect, the format of the questions, and what to practice. The questions you will see each belong to one of the batteries of the CogAT, particularly the figure matrix, number series, and sentence completion sub-tests.

Try solving the sample questions to understand a bit about the areas you may need reinforcement. Focus on the topics that are the weakest to improve your overall performance. Perhaps you get a question wrong in a sub-test because the question is very difficult, and not necessarily because you do not understand the main topic of the sub-test.