COGAT test - what is the point?

[janey99]

Can any educators enlighten me as to what this test is for? DS took it in June at the end of fifth grade, and we just got the results. It says it measures reasoning ability? Is it just a pointless NCLB benchmark?

Jane

 

[mrsv98]

Can any educators enlighten me as to what this test is for? DS took it in June at the end of fifth grade, and we just got the results. It says it measures reasoning ability? Is it just a pointless NCLB benchmark?

Jane

I can tell you what it means to our school. DD is in 4th and will take it next week as a further step to being admitted to the GATE program. She scored very high on the MAPs so this is the next step.

CoGat stands for Cognative Ability Test and is supposed to measure non-academic based intelligence, as opposed to the MAPs or ISATs or other state tests that measure achievement.

Has your DD had any contact with your GATE teachers? Maybe they are considering her for admission. Regardless, I would email the principal and ask why she took the test. In my experience, because it is not academically based, it is not used as a benchmark for the school.

 

[janey99]

I can tell you what it means to our school. DD is in 4th and will take it next week as a further step to being admitted to the GATE program. She scored very high on the MAPs so this is the next step.

CoGat stands for Cognative Ability Test and is supposed to measure non-academic based intelligence, as opposed to the MAPs or ISATs or other state tests that measure achievement.

Has your DD had any contact with your GATE teachers? Maybe they are considering her for admission. Regardless, I would email the principal and ask why she took the test. In my experience, because it is not academically based, it is not used as a benchmark for the school.

Thanks for your reply. DS's whole grade took the test. I don't know what they are doing with the results. It seemed he scored quite high, but he is not in any gifted and talented classes as far as I can tell right now in sixth grade. Maybe they used it to sift the kids into different levels of classes?

Jane

 

[mrsv98]

Thanks for your reply. DS's whole grade took the test. I don't know what they are doing with the results. It seemed he scored quite high, but he is not in any gifted and talented classes as far as I can tell right now in sixth grade. Maybe they used it to sift the kids into different levels of classes?

Jane

Is he going into Middle School? Maybe they use it for placement. Contact the principal or the teacher and see whats up, I haven't seen it used in a whole class setting but I am sure different schools use it in various ways.