Avoiding Test Anxiety

As any parent knows, a big test like the CogAT can be a very stressful event, for you and your child. Anxiety can run high. It’s easy to lose sight of the ultimate goal…an accurate score…in the chaos of preparation. However, it’s essential to remember that while preparing your child is a good idea, over-preparation can lead to test anxiety. Test anxiety is a major cause of inaccurately low test scores.

Test anxiety can show itself in many ways, including panic attacks, distraction, and rushing through the test in order to simply “get it over with.” Thankfully, this debilitating condition can be prevented. Use a free cognitive abilities test and a few sample questions to familiarize your child with the test’s format. Unless they’re very young, students understand the importance of the CogAT. Your role as a parent should be to assist them deal with the stress, not add more stress. Let them know that they don’t need to worry themselves to death; a relaxed student can think more clearly and answer more accurately than a worried student.

http://www.120perhour.com/cogat-sample-test-level-K-2.htm

I’m Not Happy with My Child’s CogAT Results…Now What?

Before you panic or jump to any conclusions, be absolutely certain that you (or your child’s teacher) has calculated the child’s CogAT results accurately. This is relatively simple, but it never hurts to double check when it comes to something as important as your child’s education. Add up all the percentile points and ensure that they average out to the correct combined percentile. Do the same with the stanine results. If you find any inaccuracies, notify your child’s school at once.

If you don’t find inaccuracies but are still surprised by your child’s CogAT results, consider all the variables involved. Was your child battling a sore throat on test day? Were they distracted by anything going on at home? Do they suffer from test anxiety? Anything which distracts a child can lead to inaccurately poor test scores. If you believe this to be the case, contact the school and ask about re-resting policies.

If your child produced honest but poor CogAT results, try not to worry excessively. Chances are good that with a bit of specialized cognitive skill development, they will thrive and soon be functioning at or above the level of their peers.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5931022_interpret-cogat-scores.html

What Do My Child’s CogAT Results Indicate?

Once your child has taken the CogAT, you will receive their CogAT results. These should be fairly simple to interpret; if you’re having trouble, contact your child’s school. The scores should place your child in a certain percentile. For example, if your child scored in the 99th percentile overall, she has outperformed 99 percent of her peers and is in the top one percent of test-takers nationwide.

What is done with the results will likely be a collaboration between you and your child’s teachers. Extremely high CogAT results usually indicate that a child would benefit from gifted, enriched or talented classes or schools. On the other hand, a very low score can indicate that your child may have fallen behind his or her peers, and could benefit from some supplemental education. A score in the average range indicates that your child is performing exactly as expected, given their age and grade level.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5931022_interpret-cogat-scores.html

How to Interpret CogAT Results

While they may look a bit intimidating, interpreting your child’s CogAT results is actually quite simple. Begin by looking at each stanine score. A stanine is simply an unfamiliar word for a familiar thing: a normalized standard score scale. Stanines range between one and nine. You should see three stanine scores. For example, we’ll use a stanine score of nine. This corresponds to a score between the 96th and 99th percentiles, indicating that your child scored above 96 to 99 percent of his peers. A stanine score above five is considered above average.

CogAT results given in percentiles are much easier to interpret. If your child receives a score in the 97th percentile, this indicates that she is in the top three percent of test-takers, and that she scored above 97 percent of her peers.

You should see individual scores and percentiles for each section of the three sections of the CogAT, as well as a combined score. If you find anything confusing, simply as your child’s school to better explain the CogAT results.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5931022_interpret-cogat-scores.html

Common Cognitive Abilities Test Questions

One of the most common questions parents and students face is a simple one: What is the cognitive abilities test? The answer is that the cognitive abilities test (or CogAT) is a comprehensive test which determines cognitive abilities, also known as cognition or reasoning. Another common way to look at cognition is problem-solving skills. The CogAT is can be given to children in any grade, K-12, and takes approximately an hour for most grade and age levels.

Many parents often also wonder why their child has been singled out to take the CogAT. While this test is usually administered in a group setting, some children (usually those whose teachers believe they are either falling behind or are especially gifted) take it individually. In these cases, the children are usually given a different version of the test than the rest of their class, in order to better determine their individual strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/academics/assessment/CogAT.aspx

What is the Cognitive Abilities Test?

The CogAT, or cognitive abilities test, is a respected test given to students in grades K-12. The purpose of the test is to assess cognitive ability. Cognition is essentially problem-solving and reasoning. The CogAT lets parents and teachers see if a child is functioning above, at or below their grade, age or peer level. Once this has been determined, steps can be taken. These steps may include placement into gifted classes, a few specialized sessions with a tutor, or placement into special-needs classes.

While the question of what is the cognitive abilities test is certainly an important one, it should always be remembered that this test is often one part of a comprehensive testing session. A common combination is to administer the CogAT, the Iowa Basic Skills test, and an IQ test. These three types of tests, when used together, can provide a very thorough understanding how a students learning, intelligence, and reasoning ability.

http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/academics/assessment/CogAT.aspx

Cognitive Abilities Testing

What is the cognitive abilities test? This questions is all too common among parents (and students) upon learning that the CogAT will be administered in their school. Thankfully, the answer is relatively simple. The cognitive abilities test is an exam which determines how highly a student is functioning cognitively. Cognitive abilities have to do with problem-solving and reason. They are not learned abilities, rather they develop over time. To accommodate this, the CogAT is divided into sections based on age and grade level.

The CogAT tests three major areas of cognition, those which have been identified as having the greatest impact on academic performance and learning. These are verbal, quantitative and non-verbal ability.

Cognitive abilities testing can be given to an entire class or grade at the same time. It can also be administered separately, in the case of students who are expected to perform either extremely well, or extremely poorly. In either case, the student may be given a version of the test which is different from his or her grade level.

http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/academics/assessment/CogAT.aspx

What is the CogAT, and What is it Not?

The CogAT is a comprehensive cognitive abilities test. Cognitive abilities are not learned, they are developed over time, with little to no relation to education. Very different than innate intelligence, cognitive abilities have to do with problem-solving and reasoning. The CogAT is not an intelligence test. There is also no “right or wrong” aspect to the CogAT; it’s not like a spelling or math test.

In many cases, the CogAT is used as a screening tool for gifted schools or classes. At other times, its’ used to determine a student’s cognition levels for special-needs classes. In addition, the CogAT is often given to entire classes, simply to give teachers a better idea of where each student’s strengths and weaknesses are.

It should be remembered that while the CogAT is not a traditional skills test or an intelligence test, it is often used in conjunction with these tests to gain a comprehensive picture of a student’s intelligence, cognitive ability, and learning.

http://www3.edenpr.org/public/documents/academics/CogAT_Parent_Guide.pdf

What is the CogAT as it Applies to My Child?

First let’s answer the question “what is the CogAT?” The CogAT (cognitive abilities test) is a trusted test, used by schools all across the country, which measures a student’s ability to reason in three main areas which directly relate to academics. These are verbal, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning, also called cognition. How this applies to your child depends, of course, on the child himself.

If your child has been doing exceedingly well in school and surpassing his peers, the CogAT may very well be a step toward a gifted program or school. In fact, many gifted and talented schools use the CogAT as part of a comprehensive set of entrance criteria.

On the other hand, if your child has been struggling in school or falling behind his peers, the CogAT can help your and his teachers identify just where the problem lies. In the past, students who did poorly were often lumped together, when in fact they had very different sets of strengths and weaknesses. The CogAT can identify these areas, giving each student a chance to succeed based on their individual abilities.

http://www3.edenpr.org/public/documents/academics/CogAT_Parent_Guide.pdf

G&T Testing

If your child is truly exceptional, he or she can easily ace whatever intelligence tests for children he or she will take. Gifted children are born with excellent mental abilities and special talents. They are easily identified among other children their age since they learn faster and are more matured than their age mates.

The only way to find out if your child is gifted or not is by letting him or her take G&T testing. However, many children are intimidated by the idea of taking a test. They are scared of the idea of failing IQ tests and disappointing their parents.

This shouldn’t be the case. You can encourage your child to take G&T testing and similar intelligence tests for children by doing the following:

• Help your child prepare for the test by providing free G&T test questions.
• Set an appointment with a psychologist who’ll conduct the test at your child’s most convenient time.
• Provide reinforcements. Motivate your child to take the test by promising him or her a wanted reward afterwards.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4441975_prepare-child-iq-test.html