Your district sent the letter. Here is what your five-year-old will be asked to do — all nine subtests in plain English, when and how it is scored, and twelve free sample questions to try together tonight.
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Written by the makers of Logic Cubs, the kindergarten CogAT app
The Cognitive Abilities Test is the screener most US school districts use for gifted, highly-capable, and advanced-academic placement. It is not an IQ test, and none of it is taught in school — it measures how a child reasons, not what they have learned.
At kindergarten level every item is a picture and the teacher reads every question aloud, so your child never has to read. It is not one long sitting: each subtest is short, and children normally get a rest before the next one starts.
Each battery gets its own score. Districts often look at all three, and at the profile across them.
Two pictures on the top row go together in some way. The child works out how, and finds the picture that goes with the third in the same way.
A sentence or a riddle is read aloud, and the child picks the picture that completes it. Nothing is written down, so it tests listening and vocabulary rather than reading.
Three pictures belong together for a reason the child has to spot. They then choose the fourth that belongs with them.
A pair of quantities changes by some rule. The child applies the same rule to a new number — counting, not arithmetic they have been taught.
A train has to balance: the child picks the car that makes both sides hold the same amount. It is early algebra without any symbols.
Beads on a row of rods grow by a pattern. The child works out the pattern and picks the rod that comes next.
Two pictures on the top row change in some way. The child works out the change and applies it to the bottom row. No words are involved, which is why it catches reasoning rather than vocabulary.
A sheet is folded and a hole is punched through it. The child works out where the holes will be once it is unfolded — this one leans hardest on holding a picture in mind.
Three shapes share something. The child finds the fourth that shares it too, ignoring the colour and size differences put there to distract.
Read each question aloud — that is how the real test works — and let your child tap an answer. These are real puzzles from Logic Cubs, one or two from each of the picture-based subtests.
What goes in the empty box so the bottom pictures go together the same way as the top?
Why: A sunflower and a chick are both yellow. A rose is red, so it goes with the cherry — the cherry is red too. An orange is orange, broccoli is green, and a blueberry is blue.
What goes in the empty box so the bottom pictures go together the same way as the top?
Why: A pebble is a tiny piece of rock and a mountain is a huge one. In the same way, a drop is a tiny bit of water and the ocean is a huge amount of it. A cloud is made of water but it is not a huge amount you can stand in, a beach sits beside the ocean, and a fish lives in it.
A dog loves to chew on a tasty _____.
Why: The missing word is bone. A dog loves to chew on a tasty bone.
The sailor steered his little _____ across the lake.
Why: The missing word is sailboat. The sailor steered his little sailboat across the lake.
Which one goes with these?
Why: These belong together because they are all long and skinny. A carrot is long and skinny too, so it joins them — but an apple is round.
Which one goes with these?
Why: These belong together because they all have STRIPES on their coats. A skunk wears a white stripe down its back too, so it joins them. A lion, an elephant and a bear are all animals as well, but each of them is one plain colour all over.
What goes in the empty box so the bottom pictures follow the same secret rule as the top?
Why: 2 carrots become 3 — one more. So 3 bunnies become 4.
What goes in the empty box so the bottom pictures follow the same secret rule as the top?
Why: Add 2: 1->3, so 2->4.
Pick the car for the bottom train so it carries the same number of balloons as the top train.
Why: The top train carries 2 balloons. The second train has 1, so it needs 1 more to carry 2 too.
Choose the string of beads that completes the pattern in the box.
Why: Each string has one more bead than the one before, so 4 beads come next.
Which one goes with these?
Why: These are all blue. A whale is blue too, so it belongs — but a crystal ball is purple, a cherry blossom is pink, and a turtle is green.
Which one goes with these?
Why: These are all round. A soccer ball is round too, so it belongs — but a hammer is not round.
The Cognitive Abilities Test is the screener most US school districts use to identify children for gifted, highly-capable, or advanced academic programs. It is published by Riverside Assessments. It is not an IQ test and none of it is taught in school: it measures how a child reasons, not what they have learned.
Kindergarteners usually take Level 5/6: 118 questions across three batteries (verbal, quantitative, nonverbal) of three subtests each. Every item is a picture and the teacher reads every question aloud, so your child never has to read. Subtests are short — about 10–15 minutes — and children get breaks between them.
Most districts screen kindergarten through second grade in October–November, and some run a second window in spring. Your school will send a letter or email with the date, typically two to six weeks ahead. Check your district's gifted or advanced-academics page for its calendar.
Each battery gets a standard age score (mean 100) and a percentile rank against children of the same age. Districts set their own cutoffs — often the 90th–98th percentile on one or more batteries, sometimes combined with other measures. The score report also shows an ability profile, such as 9A or 8B(Q+).
You cannot memorize it, and drilling answers does not help. What does help is familiarity: a five-year-old who has seen a picture analogy before spends the test reasoning rather than working out what is being asked. Ten minutes a day of the same kinds of puzzles, read aloud, for a few weeks before the date is plenty.
No. Logic Cubs is an independent study aid made by Hetu Works LLC. CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC; OLSAT® and NNAT® are registered trademarks of NCS Pearson, Inc. Our puzzles are written in the style of these tests to practise the same reasoning — they are not past papers.
Logic Cubs turns all nine subtests into a daily adventure for kindergarteners — every question narrated, no ads, no reading required. The daily 12 puzzles are free forever; Premium starts with a month free.
Download on the App StoreLogic Cubs is an independent study aid made by Hetu Works LLC. CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC; OLSAT® and NNAT® are registered trademarks of NCS Pearson, Inc. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any test publisher. Our questions are written in the style of the real tests to practise the same reasoning — they are not past papers.