The CogAT at that level is very weird. The test is given aloud, and for the verbal section, the answers are in the form of pictures. So not only does the kid have to know what the word means (or whatever), but she has to interpret the pictures correctly as well. Unfortunately, I can't remember specifics about the quantitative section at that level.
I really bugs me that school administrators give CogAT results the weight that they do. Have they ever even *seen* the test? Have they taken it themselves? I particularly think that ascribing "mathematical ability" to a child who has done well on the CogAT's quantitative section is particularly ridiculous. All it takes to do well on that section (particularly at the lower levels) is speed with fairly simple arithmetic. To have that one test--consisting of three 10 minute subtests--determine whether a kid qualifies for gifted programming in math is absurd!
So, as you can see, I'm not a fan of the CogAT, particularly when it is used to make high stakes decisions.
If the results from the CogAT don't align with what you actually know about your daughter's abilities, then I would view the results with a healthy dose of suspicion. Since the results are being used to make placement decisions, I would definitely consider becoming "that parent" for a bit.
