Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment CogAT scores - strength/weakness

So... got my sons' CogAT scores (I didn't even know they had done it!) I was given percentiles only:

Verbal: 91
Quantitative: 99
Nonverbal: 99
Composite: 99
Interactive Score Profile : 9E (V-N+)

So, this is basically confirmation that he is very visual-spatial, right? They mention on the little sticker that "He has a significant weakness in verbal reasoning and a significant strength in nonverbal (spatial) reasoning." I'm not sure I totally understand how anything over 90th percentile can be called a 'significant weakness' but whatever. Is there anything I can do to encourage the verbal side? I was kind of surprised that score was so much lower, seeing as DS LOOOOOOVES to talk and tell stories. He could talk for days it seems sometimes.

significant in that context means "statistically significant" which means that the gap between his verbal reasoning and his other forms of reasoning is really there and not due to issues in the test administration or other types of testing error.

It doesn't mean that it is "significant" meaning that it is huge.

That's what I assumed, but the phrasing there was wonky. Lol

I can't seem to get the link to work, but Riverside has a teacher's booklet ("A Short Guide for Teachers") that I found very helpful for interpreting scores. It should come up if you google Riverside plus the title.

I just glanced at it quickly so you should take a closer look, but your DS's profile, 9E (V-N+) seems to demonstrate and extreme (E) difference statistically (24+ points) between areas, but the mid stanine is a 9, which is the highest level. So, the pattern shows that all of his areas significantly above average, but the pattern is uneven. The point of the interpretive score is to aid in shoring up relative weaknesses and encouraging strengths.

Honestly, I wouldn't change anything you are doing because of this score. He is clearly well above average in verbal and it is possible that the discrepancy may be due to something besides ability (maybe he had a rough day, wasn't feeling well when he took it, or as many HG/PG kids might do, interpreted the verbal questions differently than the testers intended).

I find it weird, though, that they did not give you a composite score or say whether the percentiles refer to age or grade (apparently they calculate both).

I was actually surprised they shared what they did. There must be a state law regarding it. This school district clearly has little interest in doing anything with these scores.

I believe there is a federal law that they have to share your child's educational records with you. You could probably insist on seeing more, but it's probably not worth the trouble.

True, true. I did ask his teacher if they do any follow-up testing for kids who score high. I doubt it, but might as well ask.

ETA: The scores were for Age, not grade.

Our district doesnt give the stanines... of course they cant because they only administer the verbal and non verbal portions of the test. They also score the test based on age. They do not give the above level test so therefore a kid like dd who is the oldest in the class needs a near perfect score to meet our district cut off. She missed 4 questions on the non verbal and 3 on verbal and did not make the program.

epoh, do they not use it as a screener for the gifted program? That is what our district uses it for (well, one of the uses). Kids who score high are then given an achievement test and the teacher's do an evaluation.

Not sure what the point of buying and administering the test is if they are not going to do anything with the results. In addition, while the test does have some problems, theoretically it should provide useful information about every student's strength and weaknesses that should inform the strategies the school uses to educate them.

That is too bad that they don't take it seriously.

As for the grade vs age scores, I have mixed feelings. I have a early September baby and a late May baby. So my 2nd was 9 months younger than my first when he started kindergarten. 9 months is a big difference at that age.

Epoh....I am sending you a PM since we are both in the same situation with our kiddos on the COGAT.