CogAT Kindergarten cheat sheet

The Verbal Battery at this level is delivered orally: the test administrator reads each prompt aloud and the child answers by pointing to one of three picture choices.

Verbal Analogies (Picture Analogies) test a relation of the form A is to B as C is to ?; the child must find the picture that completes the same relationship.

The most frequent analogy relations are function (something you use for X), category (a kind of), part-whole, and opposite; these four cover most kindergarten items.

Sentence Completion (Picture Classification) gives an orally read sentence with a missing word and three pictures; the correct picture must fit both the sentence meaning and the grammatical slot.

Picture Classification asks which picture belongs with a group; the rule is shared category membership, so the distractor is usually a member of a different category or a related but non-member object.

A key decision rule: when two choices seem plausible, prefer the one that matches the same relation type as the example pair rather than one that merely looks similar.

Object similarity is not the same as relational similarity; a child who picks a picture that looks like the example rather than one that fits the relation is making the classic analogy error.

Vocabulary load is concrete and everyday (animals, foods, tools, clothing, body parts, vehicles); abstract words and idioms are not used at this level.

Answer options are three pictures, so the chance baseline is one in three; consistently choosing by a single feature (e.g., color) signals a feature-matching strategy rather than relational reasoning.

The Quantitative Battery at this level uses pictures of objects, and the administrator reads the question aloud; the child selects among three picture or number choices.

Number Series (Picture Series) requires finding the rule that generates a sequence, such as +1, +2, counting by twos, or counting backward.

For kindergarten series, the rule is almost always a constant addition or subtraction; alternating or multiplicative rules are not expected at this level.

Number Analogies use the same A:B::C:? structure as verbal analogies but with quantities, e.g., 2 objects is to 3 objects as 4 objects is to ? (answer 5).

Quantitative relations at this level are limited to more/less, equal, one more, one less, and simple addition or subtraction within about ten.

A reliable check for series items: compute the difference between consecutive terms; if the difference is constant, that constant is the rule.

Counting principles matter: one-to-one correspondence, stable order, and cardinality (the last number counted is the total) are the foundations the items probe.

Comparison items may ask which group has more, fewer, or the same; equal-sized groups arranged differently (spread out versus clustered) test conservation of number.

Distractors often differ by one from the correct answer, so a child who miscounts by one lands on a plausible wrong choice; recounting is the corrective step.

The Nonverbal Battery uses geometric shapes and figures with no reading and minimal oral instruction; the child picks the figure that completes a pattern or matrix.

Figure Classification asks which figure belongs with a set; the shared attribute may be shape, size, color, number of sides, or orientation.

Figure Analogies apply the A:B::C:? structure to figures, where the change from A to B (e.g., color change, size change, rotation) must be applied to C.

Paper Folding at this level shows a paper folded once or twice with a hole punched; the answer shows the paper unfolded, so the hole count doubles with each fold.

Rule of thumb for paper folding: one fold produces two holes, two folds produce four holes; the holes are mirror images across each fold line.

In matrix or pattern-completion items, scan rows and columns separately; the missing figure must satisfy both the row rule and the column rule.

Feature-tracking is the core method: name the attributes (shape, color, size, count, position) and check which one changes across the sequence.

A common distractor is a figure that matches on most features but differs on one; the correct answer matches on every attribute that the pattern varies.

Spatial orientation items may require mental rotation; at kindergarten level rotations are small (quarter turns) and mirror images are the typical trap.