Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Need advise of Cogat scores

My son recently took the Cogat for GT placement. He scored the following:

Age Percentile Rank

Verbal 99%
Quantitative 99%
Non Verbal 99%
Composite 99%

Based on these numbers I know he did well. However, I can't tell how significant these scores are other than he should be in the top 1%.

Our district requires passage of both cogat and ITBS at 97%. My son missed his ITBS requirements by one point. I'm debating filing an appeal (or taking him for a private test). However, prior to doing that; I want to make sure I have a base understanding on what these scores mean. Any help you can lend is appreciate it.

To make matters more complicated, in first grade he had the reverse situation with his scores... Achievement=99.9% and IQ =95%. Is this kid "gifted" or is this just a fluke?

Thank you for your help!

I'm sure that the testing gurus will speak up soon. It looks like your son "hit the ceiling" on the CoGat but there is no way of knowing how much farther he could go given the limits of the test. Obviously, the school believes that CoGat and ITBS give them different information but I don't know the relative strengths of the the tests. Neither CoGat nor ITBS is considered an IQ test. What kind of IQ test did he have in first grade? You may want to review the inventory of tests on the Hoagies website http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm

I don't think that it could hurt to appeal. I would talk to the school about what kind of additional information they would consider before you run off and spend $ on private testing if you decide to go that route.

I would recommend appealing the decision. There is always a chance your district has so many kids scoring at this level that the reason your kiddo isn't included in the cutoff is simply lack of space. The 99% across the board is not common. Did you get a profile number? It would be 9 plus a letter. Here's is a quote from the Cogat site on the 9A profile, indicating the type of learning situation that kids with that profile would benefit from:

"When Grouping, Aim for Diversity. Very able students can benefit from group interactions when they are able to explain difficult concepts to other students, but they learn more when they are also able to participate as learners. This is unlikely to happen with any regularity when such students work only with their age mates in typical classrooms. Students become learners when other members of the group have equal or greater competence. Competence is primarily defined by the student's level of achievement in a domain. As one acquires higher levels of competence in any field, diversity in the range of perspectives represented in the group becomes more important for the acquisition of critical reasoning abilities than does diversity in ability. Thus, when grouping very able students with other students, try to devise groups in which the very able students will be learners--not just explainers--and in which there will be a diversity of perspectives among participants."

You can type in your child's profile here:
http://www.riverpub.com/products/group/cogat6/input.jsp

Keep in mind that achievement testing can appear lower in GT kids if they are not exposed to higher level materials.

ETA - Cogat is not an IQ test, but rather a predictor of giftedness. If you reach the 99th percentiles, I would say it's a pretty good indication of GT.

The school only provide the age percentile scores and nothing else than he was eligible to take phase II (ITBS). I should note that the first grade/Kinder test (summer in between) he took the WIATT/WISC.

If the WISC is strong, that should overide any of the other tests.

Either way, I would go through the appeals process, if only to send the message that you are involved and care.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

I would definitely appeal. I can't believe they excluded him on such a tiny difference in achievement scores. The whole purpose of giving the CogAT is to catch those kids whose ability level may not be demonstrated by their achievement scores. If they are going to ignore CogAT scores of that level, they might as well not even give the test and just go by achievement scores.

I have found at my school district that there is some wiggle room on these things if you advocate. However, my sense is that in some districts there is absolutely no wiggle room. IMO, such criteria suggest that the program is not really for the gifted (ie out of the box, original thinkers) but for high achieving students who fit nicely into the boxes that the school wants them to fit in. Not that those kids aren't gifted but that is only one kind of gifted. If this is the case in your district, it may not be that much of a loss to miss it. But I would call up GT coordinator and discuss it. Was there a teacher observation component as well or were the tests the only criteria used?
Good luck!