Independent School District 284
Research and Evaluation 305 Vicksburg Lane Plymouth, MN 55447 (763)745-5065 Fax: (763)745-5067 Stacey Lackner, Director
September 2013 Dear Parent/Guardian, As part of the districtwide identification process for Vision 21 services, Wayzata Public Schools will be administering the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to all second and fourth grade students between September 30th and October 11th. (Students in third grade, who are new to the district, will also be given the CogAT during this window.) Specific testing dates and times will be determined by each building. Please make every effort to have your child attend school during the testing weeks, paying specific attention to the exact testing date(s) for your child’s class. Results from the CogAT tests will be used as one of multiple information sources to identify students who are most likely to benefit from the Vision 21/Gifted and Talented program. Student identification will be finalized and parents will have access to their child’s CogAT results through Skyward Family Access in November 2013. Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) The CogAT is a group-administered assessment which measures students’ learned reasoning abilities developed through in-school and out-of-school experiences. It is a reliable and valid way to anchor other measures when deciding if a student should be placed in accelerated coursework. It is a measure of a student’s potential to succeed in school-related tasks. It is not a measure of general intelligence or IQ. CogAT Screening Form - Grade 2 (and new 3rd grade students) At the second grade level, the CogAT Screening Form is administered orally to minimize the effects of reading ability on the test scores. The duration of the test depends on the pacing of the students within the testing group. Actual administration time varies. However, a typical 2nd grade class generally takes less than one hour to complete the test. At the third grade level, the test administrator reads the test directions and works through the practice items with the class as a group. Students are given a specific amount of time to work though each domain of test items independently. Administration of the third grade level of the CogAT screener takes less than one hour. CogAT Full Battery - Grade 4 At the fourth grade level, students will take the CogAT Full Battery test. The CogAT Full Battery includes the same three domains as the Screening Form - Verbal, Nonverbal, and Quantitative reasoning. However, on the Full Battery, students take three subtests in each domain instead of just one per domain on the Screening Form. The test administrator reads the test directions and works through the practice items with the class as a group. Students are given a specific amount of time to work though each subtest independently. The entire CogAT Full Battery takes about three hours to administer and may be scheduled over multiple days. Student Preparation No special preparation is required for the CogAT. However, you can encourage your child to answer all the items and give their best effort. We also recommend your child have a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast on testing days.
www.wayzata.k12.mn.us
Resources For more information on CogAT tests, visit the Riverside Publishing Website at: http://www.riversidepublishing.com/products/cogAT7/index.html If you have additional questions regarding the CogAT tests, please feel free to contact Stacey Lackner, Director of Research and Evaluation, at (763) 745-5065. For questions about Vision 21 programing or services please contact Karla Thompson, Director of Personalized Learning and Interventions, at (763) 745-5094.
Sincerely,
Stacey Lackner, Ph.D. Director of Research and Evaluation Wayzata Public Schools
www.wayzata.k12.mn.us