Iowa Assessments (ITBS) and CogAT Gifted Practice

If your child is due to take the Iowa Assessments for a gifted program admissions test, our practice pack offers ideal preparation. As the Iowa Assessments and the CogAT are often used in conjunction with each other as part of the gifted and talented testing process, our practice pack gives you access to both tests. With hundreds of questions that simulate the real exam, your child can prepare with confidence for the test.

The Iowa Assessments offers some school districts a tool to identify gifted children. The English and Math subtests of the Iowa Assessments provide an effective means to indicate that a child is gifted, should the child score exceptionally well on the tests.

Frequently, the admissions tests for gifted programs are offered during the winter season. Students are rarely permitted to take the tests more than once. To take the test, students must receive a nomination by school staff, parents, or other community members.

Different districts use different methods and test sequences to identify gifted children. While some districts use state test results, or school report card grades, others request children to take the CogAT and Iowa Assessments. Check with your district as to the order in which your child may have to take various tests. You may first be required to provide previous test results for end-of-year exams, and only then will your child be invited to take the Iowa Assessments.

Students must typically score in the 99th percentile for math and the 95th percentile for English, or vice versa. Occasionally scores of 95% for English and 98% for math will be accepted. However, check with the program as to which scores are required for the two subjects.

Please note, our 3rd Grade (Level 9) Iowa Assessments & ITBS practice tests currently do not include practice questions for the social studies or the science subtests.

The 3rd Grade CogAT examines students on Level 9 criteria, as it is geared toward nine-year-old students. The assessment is used to measure a student’s cognitive abilities. The test administered is called the CogAT Form 7.

The CogAT Form 7 assesses quantitative, nonverbal, and verbal abilities. The test is especially useful for measuring students’ relative academic weaknesses and strengths. As a result, the test is frequently used as an admissions test for entrance into gifted and talented programs. As the test allows students to demonstrate their capabilities through nonverbal assessments, it is particularly appropriate and helpful for students who speak English as a second language.

At the age of the Level 9 (i.e. third grade) testing, most students will have developed good academic skills. The CogAT Form 7 issued in grade 3 is the first CogAT Level to test students with written verbal items, as opposed to the images and pictures students were exposed to in previous levels. Students should still prepare themselves to answer complex and challenging verbal questions in a different format when they take the CogAT Level 9.

The CogAT Level 9 consists of 170 questions divided into three sections, called batteries. These are the Verbal Battery, the Quantitative Battery, and the Nonverbal Battery. These batteries can either be administered together or separately. The school or teacher administering the test will decide how and when the students take the batteries. Each of the batteries is made up of three subtests.

Help your child perform his or her best on test day. With hundreds of practice questions for both the CogAT and Iowa Assessments, our gifted admissions bundle pack offers a great selection of resources to help your child fully prepare for test day.