Bump Your Child to a Gifted & Talented Program with the CogAT!

Getting the Best Education for your Child

Every parent’s dream is for their child to excel. However, for some parents, this sometimes feels impossible. Oftentimes, parents begin to believe that smarts begin at birth. While there are children who naturally excel over others, this theory is not always true.

The truth of the matter is that most children are not gifted. In fact, many gifted children aren’t much different from the average child. They simply practice for their gifted admissions test. Remember: Practice makes all the difference.

Identifying the Gifted Children

Gifted children are identified by their problem-solving skills, memory, and the ability to use and understand language. If you are serious about getting your child into the gifted program, it’s important to check your State’s gifted program requirements, and focus on enhancing these skills.

CogAT Here to Help!

Good news! most schools across the United States will use CogAT to locate their gifted students a few times a year. The test appears twice a year between the months of September to November, then again January to April. The test is offered in multiple-choice format and is divided into three parts: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. Find out more about the CogAT.

• Verbal: The verbal battery is complete with picture/verbal analogies, sentence completion, and picture/verbal classification.
• Quantitative: The quantitative battery consists of number analogies, number series, and number puzzles.
• Nonverbal: The last section of the CogAT test includes figure matrices, figure classification, and paper folding diagrams.

CogAT Prepping Tactics

Make Learning Fun: Mix It Up!

Variety is key to avoiding boredom. Between learning and free time, try intriguing your child with educational games that challenge them in a way they hadn’t experienced before. We recommend math-themed baking, vocabulary-themed treasure hunts, and, perhaps, a classic game of trivia. Who knows? Come testing day, they may return not only with a high score, but a beaming smile to boot!

Stay SEN-tered

Sleep, Exercise, and Nutrition are no joke. In fact, they are an integral component of any successful study plan! Therefore, during your preparation process (and even after, for that matter), we recommend supplying your child with plenty of healthy brain energy (fruit, vegetables, and nuts will all do the trick!).

In between your child’s learning sessions, we also recommend making sure they are keeping physically active and not at home all day on their gadgets. Research has shown regular physical exercise has been shown to have a positive impact on a child’s brain efficiency and academic performance.

Finally, make sure your child is getting proper sleep in order to better store the new information they have accumulated. Sacrificing sleep for more study time is like sacrificing a house for its roof- NOT recommended.

Practice Tests, Practice Tests, Practice Tests

We can’t stress this enough: Practice tests are the ultimate weapon when it comes to making sure your child is as familiar as possible with the testing material. Every examination has its own special phrasing and structure. Becoming acquainted with a test’s qualities and learning how to tackle questions with hands-on experience is key to conquering it.

Take a Sneak Peek at TestPrep-Online’s CogAT Practice Packs

CogAT is used at multiple levels across most grades. Here on TestPrep-Online, we have full-length practice tests with thorough explanations, and handy study guides that you can read with your child. Below we have shared a few sample questions with answers. Why not help your child shine and quickly get them into the gifted program today!

2nd Grade CogAT Sample Question

Choose the correct image number (left to right): 1 2 3 4

Answer & Explanation ▼ | ▲ The correct answer is 3. Look at the top row. The figure in the left frame is a pink trapezoid. The figure in the right frame is the same as the figure on the left only it is upside down and the top of the trapezoid is pink while the bottom of the trapezoid is yellow. The figures in the bottom row will reflect the same relationship. Since the figure in the left frame contains a yellow star, the figure in the right frame will contain the same star upside down. Because the star on the left is yellow, the top segment of the star will be yellow while the bottom segment of the star will be pink.

Explore Our CogAT Practice Packs!

Hundreds of questions and answer explanations, full practice tests, detailed study guides and solving tips, step-by-step, and timed modes for question completion