Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Materials and test prep for CogAT

Hi All: My DD is currently in 2nd grade in NJ and she had her STARR test twice, once in Oct and another last week. She has high scores and the teacher told me that she is performing at a higher than average 4th grade students in reading and Math. She said that DD will need to take CogAT Test. Could you please suggest the matetials/books for the CoGAT test? Thanks a lot for your help.

Welcome!

In general, posters on this board may value accurate test results and view each as a single measure or snapshot of the child at a point in time, lending insight for planning to address the child's ongoing educational needs.

Therefore the type of test prep which is broadly endorsed is simply that which strives to ensure the child is functioning at a high level: well rested, well fed, etc.

A second level of test prep which many agree with would be the free online demo or sample questions posted online on the specific test company's website. Free practice tests online, offered by the testing company, are generally considered becoming acquainted with the test and are not considered to be gaming the system. Individuals most often aware of free practice tests online may be those who are educators, have an older child in the system, volunteer at school, research extensively online, join forums, and/or socialize with other parents having an older child in the system. Those who may be unaware of practice tests online may be those learning the ropes as they shepherd their first child through the system, those who do not join committees, participate in forums, research online, socialize with other parents, or volunteer in the classroom.

A level of test prep which may be broadly rejected as giving a falsely inflated result (generally not sustainable or supported by the child's ongoing progress/performance/achievement) is the test prep available from commercial companies at a price. This may be regarded by some as unethical, cheating, and/or gaming the system. Some may associate this type of test prep with the often negatively regarded concepts of tiger parenting, vanity parenting, hothousing, and trophy kids. There are other threads which discuss these concepts.

There are other threads which discuss the relative merits (pros and cons) of CogAt testing.

Wishing you all the best.

Riverside is publisher for CogAT. They offer some sample questions on their site. They also provide practice tests for the students if requested by the school (our district does the practice tests to ensure all of the kids are familiar with the format and types of questions). You may want to check with your school to ensure they are doing this (I think most kids need to be at least a little familiar with this type of test in todays world to have a fair chance). Building Thinking Skills 1 & 2 are long, but good skill builders for 2nd Grade CogAT if you have the time before the test.

I have spent many hours in the classroom, socializing with other parents, and doing research, and yet I still feel unaware at times of the available resources, especially with the ever-changing tests and standards. I would hope any new parent who posts a question about resources doesn't feel that more experienced members view him or her as an anti-social, uninvolved, and uneducated parent!


I think it would make more sense if we each offered advice from our own experiences, rather than making it sound as if this board/these parents are a monolith. I think that the entire issue is a lot more nuanced than this. Obviously, I am guessing most of us (and the original poster) aren't in favor of kids getting a copy of last year's CoGAT test so they can memorize answers. OTOH, I know many of us did activities with our kids to promote the same kinds of skills required on tests like the CoGAT. Truly, I think a lot of parents worry too much about this. If prepping were really that easy, every HS kid would be getting perfect ACT/SAT scores I think it's more important to advocate to keep gifted classes geared towards gifted students, and to help teachers and administrators understand how differently gifted kids can present. But I guess I don't view a targeted test prep as really that different than doing Sudoku or logic puzzles with my kids, listening to Grammar Girl podcasts, or having them work on Khan Academy. We all want to nurture and encourage our kids' best potential. "Some" may immediately assume a parent who buys some test prep materials may be a lying, unethical, vain, tiger parent, but I would prefer not to immediately jump to that conclusion.

I don't know a lot about the STARR test, so I can't comment on that. As far as the CoGAT, I've heard really mixed things about how well it identifies gifted kids. For my kids, it generally seemed to match up pretty well. We used materials from The Critical Thinking Co. in the summers, and I know they have some specifically targeted to the CoGAT. My kids really enjoyed some of their logic and puzzle books, and I'm sure that helped them on some of the standardized tests.

I think the most important thing to do is to talk to your daughter and see how she's feeling about school. If she's perfectly happy, it may not matter what happens in testing. If you hear she's bored or frustrated, it's worth it to find other outlets for her learning, or possibly pursue private testing. I've read that most parents are pretty accurate in identifying giftedness, and I assume you suspect it or you wouldn't have found this board.

Good luck and I hope you find lots of great resources for your dd on this board!

Agreed. The statement "Individuals most often aware of free practice tests online may be those who are educators, have an older child in the system, volunteer at school, research extensively online, join forums, and/or socialize with other parents having an older child in the system" provides ideas as to local sources of information which may be available IRL. There may be many reasons why parents are unable to avail themselves of these information flows, and there is no judgment stated or implied as to a parent being "anti-social, uninvolved, and uneducated."

Absolutely. The original post was without reply for about three weeks, therefore I posted a broad and generic reply.

Greatly oversimplifying, there are IQ/ability tests, and there are achievement tests.
CogAT is among the former classification, while ACT/SAT are achievement tests.
Prep for IQ/ability tests may be frowned upon as gaming the system and yielding an inaccurate score,
while prep for achievement tests is well accepted.

Thank you for sharing your view. Some may say that general enrichment, especially child-led, is different than purchasing a targeted CogAt test prep and teaching to the test.

Agreed. The post was not about judging, labeling, or immediately jumping to conclusions, it was about test prep for gifted screening and/or identification, specifically for the CogAt. Previous threads on related subjects were mentioned.

Agreed. Some may say this is dependent upon having an accurate test result.