CogAT Grade 4 Test: Practice Tips and Study Guide
Updated January 5, 2024
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The CogAT test is a tool for evaluating a student’s cognitive abilities compared to their peers. The assessment is divided into three sections including a verbal battery, non-verbal battery and quantitative battery. The test can highlight areas for improvement and whether your child is a candidate for gifted programs.
What is The CogAT Test?
The CogAT test is a popular cognitive assessment for school-aged children. It often helps determine and ensure children's skill levels and even helps them get into gifted programs.
The CogAT test is available for every grade level, including grade 4.
Here we’ll discuss the purpose of CogAT tests, the scoring system and the structure of the CogAT test for the 4th grade.
You'll also be provided with a few sample questions, as well as tips and tricks for preparing for this test. Let’s get started!
The CogAT Test Levels
| Grade | Test Level | Number of Questions | Length of Test (minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten (K) | 5/6 | 118 | 112 |
| 1st | 7 | 136 | 112 |
| 2nd | 8 | 154 | 122 |
| 3rd | 9 | 170 | 90 |
| 4th | 10 | 176 | 90 |
| 5th | 11 | 176 | 90 |
| 6th | 12 | 176 | 90 |
| 7th/8th | 13/14 | 176 | 90 |
| 9th/10th | 15/16 | 176 | 90 |
| 11th/12th | 17/18 | 176 | 90 |
What Is the CogAT Test 4th Grade?
The CogAT test 4th grade evaluates a student’s level of cognitive development compared to other children in their age group or grade.
The goal of the test is to identify developmental patterns and determine where children stand on the standardized sample of their age group and grade.
The CogAT test 4th grade can be administered in schools, allowing educators and parents to determine whether children's performance can be improved.
It can also be administered outside of schools as an entry requirement for gifted programs.
If you think your child is a regular high achiever and can be a candidate for advanced programs, getting them to take the CogAT test 4th grade can be a great investment in their education.
Take a Practice CogAT Grade 4 Test on TestPrep-Online
CogAT Test Prep Grade 4: The Structure
The 4th-grade CogAT test has 176 questions and a time limit of 90 minutes.
The assessment is divided into three sections:
- Verbal battery
- Non-verbal battery
- Quantitative battery
These batteries cover different topics, as described below.
CogAT Grade 4 Verbal Battery
This section of the CogAT test evaluates vocabulary, verbal memory and efficiency.
It also tests children's ability to comprehend different ideas (such as analogies) and their aptitude for working out relationships between words, allowing them to complete sentences.
The questions can be shown as text or pictures.
The picture/verbal analogies part has 14 questions, and the child has 15 minutes to complete it.
The sentence completion and the classification parts take 14 minutes for the 14 questions each.
CogAT Grade 4 Non-Verbal Battery
This section assesses students' quantitative reasoning and abstract reasoning skills. It also tests children's aptitude for using problem-solving cognitive skills.
The questions are often presented as figure matrices and figure classifications, as well as paper-folding assignments.
The figure classification part has 14 questions and takes around 10 minutes, just like the figure matrices subsection.
In contrast, the paper-folding section requires 10 minutes to resolve 10 problems.
CogAT Grade 4 Quantitative Battery
This section of the CogAT test measures children's reasoning abilities.
It uses spatial and figural problems, testing children's ability to identify number analogies, number series and number puzzles.
The first part has 14 questions, and it takes around 13 minutes. The second has 14 questions and takes 10 minutes to complete.
In comparison, the puzzle part has 10 questions to be completed within 10 minutes.
4th Grade CogAT Practice Test Examples
Here are a few examples for the 4th-grade CogAT test to help you get an idea of what's expected from your child on this assessment.
CogAT Test Prep Grade 4 – Verbal Battery
1. Move is to moved as look is to _______?
a) Watch
b) Looked
c) Locked
d) Watched
2. Which word best fits the below group of words?
Piano – Drums – Guitar
a) Song
b) Flute
c) Sound
d) Stick
3. The first two words in the sentence below are related for some reason. Find the fourth word that correlates with the third word in the sentence like the first and second words do.
If an ‘apple’ is to a ‘fruit’, then a ‘carrot’ is to a...
a) Vegetable
b) Meat
c) Milk
d) Soup
Study the image above.
Choose the option that shows where the heart was located when the paper was still unfolded.
From the following options, choose the one that shows where the star was located when the paper was still unfolded:
a) The square has a star in the middle
b) The square has a star in its bottom right corner
c) The square has a star in its top right corner
d) The square has a star in its top left corner
1. What is the missing number in the following equation?
(3 + 9) + 10 = (10 + ?) + 7
a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 7
2. What is the next number in the sequence?
2, 4, 8, 16, ?
a) 24
b) 32
c) 44
d) 52
3. Resolve the following mathematical equation:
(3 + 2) + 5 = (5 + ?) + 2
a) 5
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
If you want 12-month access to all the practice resources for this test, our partner TestPrep-Online.com offers a Family Membership.
Family Membership gives you access to all the TestPrep-Online resources for the next 12 months. You will also get two separate accounts, which can be very helpful if you have two children preparing for their tests.
Get a Family Membership with 12-month access
The Best CogAT Grade 4 Test Prep Tips
Here are a few tips for helping your child prepare for their 4th grade CogAT test.
Step 1. Understand the Test Format
Different schools often administer different versions of the CogAT test grade 4.
They can also employ a variety of testing methods and standards. Contact your child’s educators to clarify the test format your child will be expected to take.
Ask them whether the test will be provided on paper or computer and whether children take all three batteries at once.
Inquire about the level your child will take. While most 4th graders take level 10, if your child is on an advanced level, they may get to take level 11.
Step 2. Use Online Practice Tests
Using online 4th grade GATE test practice questions is the best way to get children comfortable with the type of questions they'll have on the real-time test.
Using these tests, you can help your child identify their strengths and weaknesses and work on both to improve their overall performance.
Step 3. Create a Steady Revision Plan
Once you know which areas the child should work on, you can create a revision plan that allows you to revisit the child's performance on the practice rounds.
This is perfect practice alongside doing 4th grade GATE test practice questions.
This step is critical for preparing for the CogAT tests as it ensures that the child is on the right track and they're not trying to cram too much study material into a short time frame.
Step 4. Encourage Children to Read a Lot
Get your child into reading activities they can do in their free time. Give them light reading material at first to avoid them getting discouraged.
Once they've mastered that, they can start working toward the more challenging materials that allow for better language acquisition.
It's also a good idea to read with your child. You can choose more challenging books for these occasions.
As you read, explain the difficult words, sentences or word correlations to the child.
Step 5. Use Number Puzzles and Games
Number puzzles are excellent and fun ways to develop children's numerical and problem-solving skills.
Games involving mathematical problems can also improve their cognitive abilities and prepare them for the quantitative battery section of the CogAT 4th grade test.
Step 6. Learn to Focus
If your child has trouble focusing, they can benefit from mindfulness techniques.
These are proven to help improve concentration, which is critical for your child while studying and taking exams.
Ask the child to focus on breathing for a few minutes when they have trouble focusing. It will have a positive effect on their learning abilities.
Step 7. Get Enough Rest
While good performance is vital on this test, it should never come at the price of rest and healthy life habits.
The best CogAT test prep starts with good sleep. Ensure that your child has plenty of rest while studying and before taking the test, has a balanced meal and stays hydrated.
Provide plenty of opportunities for exercise, as this is also crucial for improving your child's performance on the test.
The CogAT test in 4th grade is a cognitive aptitude assessment much like regular tests children take in school.
Each level of the CogAT test corresponds to the age of the students. So, if your child is in 4th grade, they will take the level 10 CogAT tests, or the level 11 if they're in a gifted program.
The test is typically administered by class teachers or other qualified educators.
While there is no official passing score on the CogAT test for the 4th grade, children may find completing the assessment challenging.
It's meant to challenge students' cognitive abilities.
Without proper preparation, they can have a hard time answering the questions correctly and efficiently. This is why it’s a great idea to do a 4th grade CogAT practice test, like those on TestPrep-Online.
Children can prepare for the CogAT Test for the 4th grade in the comfort of their homes by practicing with an online 4th grade CogAT practice test, such as those on TestPrep-Online.
This will help them familiarize themselves with the test and question formats and learn what's expected of them on the test.
They can also identify their strengths and potentially problematic areas they need to improve.
CogAT tests have two types of scores, the Raw Score and the Stanine Score – both of which are tailored to individual age groups. The raw scores have three sections. The first one (Raw Scores) shows how many questions were answered/answered correctly.
The second (Grade Scores) indicates the National Percentile Rank of a child in the same grade across the country. The third (Composite Score) is a percentile of scores on all sections.
The test score is also expressed in an APR graph (indicating the student’s scores for each of the sections, and the Composite Score) and in an Age Section (providing the Standard Age Score, Stanine Test Score and Age Percentile Rank).
The CogAT test is a combination of assessments evaluating different cognitive abilities and is not strictly considered a math test.
There is no specific curriculum that prepares students for any of the sections, so students can only prepare by sharpening all the required skills, not just math.
The CogAT test in 4th grade evaluates levels and patterns of cognitive development in children. The scores are compared to other children's results in the same age group and grade.
The test essentially measures general reasoning abilities, which children keep developing from birth to early adulthood.
These skills are influenced by experiences in school and extracurricular activities.
You can get a sample CogAT practice test online, try the ones on TestPrep-Online.
There is no official mark for a good score on this test. The best score for each child depends on the child's cognitive abilities.
That said, compared to children in a similar age group, a Stanine Score of 4 to 6 is deemed average.
A score of 7 to 8 is considered above average, while a score of 9 and above speaks of a high level of abilities.
The CogAT test for the 4th grade isn't a pass-or-fail test. It's only meant to assess children's cognitive abilities and does not provide a passing score.
However, a below-average (under 4) score indicates that a child has significantly lower cognitive abilities than other children in the same age group and grade.
This doesn't mean that they failed the test, just that they need more attention in certain areas of their education.
At the request of their parents, children can retake the test in their school once during the same grade.
They can also retake it some additional times outside school (for example, if they're applying for a gifted program outside their school).
However, the latter is a paid attempt, while the two attempts children are allowed to take at school are free. Due to this, it makes sense to practice 4th grade gifted test sample questions.
The CogAT Test for the 4th grade has a 90-minute time limit. During this, children must resolve as many of the 176 questions as possible.
To get used to this time-intensive pressure, it’s a good idea to prepare with a timed 4th grade CogAT sample test.
Usually, you can get a complete guide for the CogAT test for the 4th grade from the same sources you get the sample questions from, try the ones from TestPrep-Online.
There are plenty of online sources that can help you assist your child as they prepare for this test.
Educators and your child's class teacher may also help you find appropriate resources and tips on how to prepare your child for passing their 4th-grade CogAT test successfully.
Final Thoughts
The CogAT test for the 4th grade is a complex assessment evaluating children's cognitive abilities.
The test is split into three sections: verbal battery, non-verbal battery and quantitative battery, each testing learned skills through multiple-choice questions.
While the test is very similar to other tests your child may take at their school, it can still make them anxious, which can result in a low performance.
Encouraging your child to do a CogAT practice test grade 4 and improve problematic areas, engaging them in fun educational activities and reassuring them that they should only focus on doing their best are some of the most effective ways to ensure their success on the CogAT test.
