# CogAT Figure Classification, explained for parents

> In Figure Classification, your child sees a few shapes that share something and picks the answer that belongs with them. It is a picture-only sorting puzzle: find the hidden rule, ignore what doesn’t matter, and choose the shape that follows it.

Source: https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/figure-classification/ · Thinkling parent guide · Updated 2026-10-18

## Key takeaways

- Figure Classification uses pictures at every grade: teacher-paced with directions read aloud in K–2, and timed at 10 minutes from 3rd grade (Level 9).
- Rules to look for include shading, kind of shape, number, size, direction and position, and some groups share two rules at once.
- The most useful step is noticing what differs inside the group: if the shapes are all different, the rule can’t be about shape.
- The classic trap is a choice that looks like one figure in the group but breaks the shared rule, like a dotted star when the rule is “white inside.”
- Figure Classification is not on the Screening Form; secret sorting rules with buttons and odd-one-out drawings are easy ways to practice at home.

## What a Figure Classification question looks like

Each question shows a small group of figures that are alike in some way. Your child works out what they share and chooses the answer that shares it too. The figures can look quite different from one another; the rule is what connects them.

Figure Classification is one of three subtests in the [CogAT®](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/) Nonverbal battery, along with [Figure Matrices](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/figure-matrices/) and [Paper Folding](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/paper-folding/). It is not on the [CogAT Screening Form](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/screener/).

> **Sample question: Figure Classification · K–5**
>
> The three shapes on the left are alike in some way. Which answer goes with them?
>
> **Answer: A.** All three shapes are white inside, whatever their shape. The white oval fits; the dotted star has the right shape family but the wrong shading.

In the sample, a star, a heart and a square are all different shapes, but they are all white inside. The answer is the white oval. The dotted star is the trap: it matches one shape in the group, but not the rule. The dotted oval is the same shape as the answer, but its inside breaks the rule.

### From kindergarten to 5th grade

The format uses pictures at every level, so it looks the same in [kindergarten](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/kindergarten/) and in 5th grade. At Levels 5/6, 7 and 8 (K–2), the teacher reads the directions aloud and paces the group. From Level 9 (usually [3rd grade](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/3rd-grade/)), children work on their own, and the subtest is timed at 10 minutes. What changes with age is how subtle the rule is and how many details your child has to compare.

## What it trains

Figure Classification trains the ability to find a rule by comparing several examples, and to tell the difference between details that matter and details that don’t. That second part is the hard one: a group might share shading while differing in shape, size and direction.

It is the picture version of [Verbal Classification](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/verbal-classification/), which asks the same question about meanings instead of shapes. A child who learns to say “these are all the same because…” gets better at both.

## How many questions there are

The table shows how many Figure Classification questions appear at each level of CogAT Form 7 and Form 8.

**Figure Classification: number of questions by CogAT level (Form 7/8)**

| Level | 5/6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10–11 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Usual grade | K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th–5th |
| Questions | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 |
| Timing | Read aloud, teacher-paced | 10 minutes |  |  |  |

## Rules to look for

- **Shading:** all white, all black, all striped or all dotted, as in the sample.
- **Kind of shape:** all have straight sides, all are curved, or all have the same number of sides.
- **Number:** each figure has two dots, or three small parts.
- **Size:** all small or all large.
- **Direction:** every arrow or point faces the same way.
- **Position:** a small mark sits in the same place in each figure, such as the top corner.
- **Two rules at once:** for example, shapes that are both shaded _and_ small.

## A simple routine for solving them

1. **Look for what is the same.** Go through shape, shading, size, number, direction and position, one at a time.
2. **Notice what is different.** Whatever differs inside the group cannot be the rule. In the sample the shapes differ, so the rule is not about shape.
3. **Say the rule.** “They are all white inside.”
4. **Test each choice.** Keep only the one that follows the rule. If two fit, look for a second rule the group shares.

The “what is different” step is the most useful one. If the shapes in the group are all different, your child can stop looking at shape and focus on everything else.

## Common mistakes and how to fix them

### Matching a shape instead of the rule

A choice that looks like one of the figures in the group, like the dotted star in the sample, feels like a match. Remind your child that the answer must follow the rule shared by _all_ the figures, not look like one of them.

### Stopping at the first rule

Sometimes the group shares two things: all are shaded _and_ all are small. If more than one choice fits the first rule your child finds, it is time to look for a second.

### Missing small details

Dots, thin outlines and tiny marks are easy to overlook. Encourage your child to slow down and check each part of every figure before deciding.

## Practice ideas for home

- **Secret sorting rule:** sort buttons or blocks by color, shape or size without saying how, and let your child guess your rule.
- **Which one belongs?:** draw three shapes that share one thing (each has a dot inside), then offer a few candidates.
- **Same and different:** show two drawings and ask for three things that are the same and three that are different.
- **Odd one out:** draw four shapes where one breaks the rule, and let your child find it and explain why.

Thinkling practices Figure Classification with original shapes generated fresh each time, so your child learns to find rules instead of remembering answers. Questions get harder only when your child is ready, and each mistake is explained with pictures and voice before a new question of the same kind returns later. For related skills, see our [logic games for kids](https://www.thinklingapp.com/logic-games-for-kids/).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is figure classification on the CogAT?

It is one of the three Nonverbal subtests. Your child sees a small group of figures that share a feature, such as all being white inside or all pointing the same way, and picks the answer that shares it too. The questions use only shapes, and in kindergarten through 2nd grade the teacher reads the directions aloud.

### Is Figure Classification on the CogAT Screening Form?

No. The Screening Form includes Verbal Analogies, Number Analogies and Figure Matrices. Figure Classification is part of the full Nonverbal battery, along with Figure Matrices and Paper Folding. Ask your school or district which form your child will take, since schools use the test in different ways.

### How is Figure Classification different from Figure Matrices?

Figure Classification is about a group: several shapes share a rule, and the answer must follow the same rule. Figure Matrices is about a change: one shape turns into another, and the answer shows the same change happening to a new shape. Both use the same kind of pictures, so careful looking helps with each.

### My child keeps picking the shape that looks most similar. How can I help?

That is a very natural instinct. Before looking at the choices, ask “What is the same about all of them?” and “What is different?” Once your child notices that the shapes in the group differ, they can stop matching shapes and look at shading, size or direction instead. Sorting games at home build this habit.

### Can a kindergartner do figure classification?

Yes. Kindergartners sort things by color, size and shape all the time, and that is the starting skill. Begin with obvious rules, like all black or all big, using blocks or buttons. As your child gets comfortable, move to drawings with subtler rules. Keep it short and playful, and stop while it is still fun.

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