Dear 7th Grade Parents,
Each year, all Ross A. Lurgio Middle School students in Grade 7 take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). The CogAT assesses the level and pattern of cognitive development of students. The test measures general and specific reasoning abilities in three domains: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. These general abilities reflect the overall efficiency of cognitive processes and strategies that enable individuals to learn new tasks or to solve problems.
The results of these tests will be used by teachers to adapt instruction in ways that enhance student’s success in learning. Data gathered from these assessments will be included as one aspect of the multiple measures which help the staff make decisions regarding your child’s instructional needs.
Due to the pandemic, your student is scheduled to take the CogAT at home on a distance learning day during the first two weeks in November. Your child received an email today regarding the assessment and the testing schedule. Ms. Rockwell, the enrichment coordinator, Mrs. Dennis, the technology coordinator, Mrs. Manley, the technology assistant, will be in charge of supporting students while they are taking their online assessment. Email updates will be sent next week with specific testing times and procedures.
You can help ensure accurate results of this diagnostic by doing the following:
- Your student is the only person who takes the assessment.
- No one else in the home views the assessment.
- No one assists your student during the assessment, and your student does not access any assistive technology (e.g. the internet)
- You create a quiet space for your student for an ideal testing environment.
Please also understand that all test content is secure and confidential. The test instructions, items, practice items, and answers must all remain as such. Photographs, photocopies, screen captures, verbal discussions, written comments, or other reproduction of any portion of the assessment are not permitted at any time. Engaging in any of the above activities is a breach of copyright.
If you would prefer that your student not participate in the CogAT, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher and let him/her know that you would like to excuse your student from the CogAT.
We appreciate your ongoing support. If you have any questions regarding the information in this letter please feel free to contact your child’s homeroom teacher.
Sincerely,
Ed Joyce, Principal
2020 Fall CogAT Parent Information FAQ
Ross A. Lurgio Middle School
What is CogAT?
The CogAT measures reasoning and problem-solving skills in three different areas: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. Reasoning skills develop gradually throughout a person’s lifetime and at different rates for different individuals. The CogAT score reflects a student's ability to discover relationships and demonstrate flexible thinking at this stage of cognitive development.
How does Lurgio use the results?
- CogAT results inform our efforts to adapt instruction to the needs and abilities of students.
- This assessment provides a third party measure of cognitive development that complements the information shared in report cards.
- Teachers may refer to CogAT scores in order to plan instruction for students who are struggling or in need of enrichment.
- For example, if a student’s score profile shows an uneven pattern of relative strength and weakness, the teacher can provide challenging opportunities for the student to do the kind of thinking he/she does best (building on the student’s strength).
- For example, if a student’s score profile shows an uneven pattern of relative strength and weakness, the teacher can provide challenging opportunities for the student to do the kind of thinking he/she does best (building on the student’s strength).
- School administrators, teachers, and counselors may utilize CogAtT results to make course placement decisions. Determining the appropriate level for mathematics or world language can be complicated and includes many factors.
- CogAT scores may also be used to develop interventions for students in a way that will be most effective for their long term success.
What are the three different subtests?
The Verbal Battery measures flexibility, fluency, and adaptability in reasoning with verbal materials and in solving verbal problems. These reasoning abilities play an important role in reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, and virtually all verbal learning tasks.
The Quantitative Battery measures quantitative reasoning skills; flexibility and fluency in working with quantitative symbols and concepts; and the ability to organize, structure, and give meaning to an unordered set of numerals and mathematical symbols. These reasoning skills are significantly related to problem solving in mathematics and other disciplines.
The Nonverbal Battery measures reasoning using geometric shapes and figures. To perform successfully, students must invent strategies for solving novel problems. They must be flexible in using these strategies and accurate in implementing them.
