Parent guide
Is the CogAT an IQ test?
No. The CogAT measures developed reasoning abilities in verbal, quantitative and nonverbal areas, and it is a group test given at school. IQ tests such as the WISC-V are given one-on-one by a licensed psychologist, and there is no valid way to convert a CogAT score into an IQ.
Key takeaways
- The CogAT is not an IQ test: its publisher describes it as measuring developed reasoning abilities in verbal, quantitative and nonverbal areas.
- The CogAT is a group test given at school, while IQ tests such as the WISC-V are given one-on-one by a licensed psychologist.
- The CogAT Standard Age Score and IQ scores both use 100 as the average, but that does not make them the same scale.
- There is no valid way to convert a CogAT percentile rank or Standard Age Score into an IQ score, including a 99th percentile.
- Whether individual testing makes sense for your child is a question for your school or a licensed psychologist, not for a conversion chart.
On this page
The short answer
No, the CogAT® is not an IQ test. Its publisher describes it as measuring developed reasoning abilities: the learned reasoning skills children use with words (verbal), with numbers and amounts (quantitative), and with shapes and figures (nonverbal). Those skills grow with experience at home and at school.
The CogAT is also a group test. A class or group of children takes it together at school, on paper or online. Schools often use it to help identify students for gifted and talented programs, usually as one piece of information among several.
How the CogAT differs from an IQ test like the WISC-V
When parents compare the CogAT with an IQ test, they usually mean an individual test such as the WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children). The main differences are about who gives the test, how, and what the scores mean.
| At a glance | CogAT | IQ test such as the WISC-V |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A test of developed reasoning abilities in verbal, quantitative and nonverbal areas | An IQ test |
| Setting | A group test given at school | One child at a time, one-on-one |
| Who gives it | The school | A licensed psychologist |
| Scores | Percentile ranks, stanines and Standard Age Scores, compared with children of the same age or grade | IQ scores |
| Average score | Standard Age Score of 100 | 100 |
That last row is where the confusion starts.
Why you can’t convert a CogAT score into an IQ
The CogAT’s Standard Age Score (SAS) uses 100 as its average, with a standard deviation of 16, and is reported from 50 to 160. IQ scores also use 100 as the average. It is natural to assume an SAS of 130 is an IQ of 130, but it is not. The SAS is not an IQ score, and there is no valid way to convert a CogAT percentile rank or SAS into one.
The reason is simple: they are different tests. They ask different questions, are given in different conditions, one in a group and one individually, and each compares a child with its own reference group. The same number on two different tests is like the same number of points in two different games: the number matches, the game does not.
Online charts that turn CogAT percentiles into IQ numbers are not a valid shortcut. Any IQ number they produce from a CogAT score has no valid basis.
What about a 99th percentile?
A CogAT percentile rank of 99 means your child’s score was equal to or higher than the scores of 99 percent of the comparison group, children of the same age or the same grade. It is a very high result. It is still a CogAT result, though, and it does not translate into an IQ.
What a very high CogAT score does and doesn’t tell you
A very high score, such as stanine 9 (percentile ranks 96 to 99), tells you something real: on test day, your child’s reasoning in that battery or overall was very high compared with children of the same age or grade. Our guide to what a good CogAT score is puts that in context, and the ability profile shows whether it was even across the three batteries.
It does not tell you:
- your child’s IQ;
- whether your child will be placed in a program, which depends on your school’s rules;
- how hard they work, how creative they are, or how they will do in later years;
- anything about a diagnosis or a learning need.
The same caution runs the other way. A lower score than you expected is one morning’s result on one group test, not a measure of your child’s potential.
When families think about individual testing
Some parents wonder whether an individual evaluation would add something the CogAT cannot. Whether it makes sense for your child, and what it would involve, is a question for your school or a licensed psychologist. A website cannot answer it, and neither can a CogAT score.
If you want to raise it, a few questions keep the conversation useful:
- What would an individual evaluation tell us that the school does not already know?
- How does the school use outside test results, if at all?
- Who in the school or district can talk this through with us?
For the bigger question behind many of these searches, see is my child gifted?
Preparing without pressure
Practice helps a child feel at home with the question formats, so test day holds fewer surprises, and short, playful sessions are enough. Thinkling offers original practice questions in the same formats as the nine CogAT subtests; it does not predict CogAT scores, percentiles or anything like an IQ. For a sensible plan, see our practice test guide, and if you are unsure whether to prepare at all, read should you prep for gifted testing?
Frequently asked questions
What IQ is the 99th percentile on the CogAT?
There is no valid answer, because a CogAT percentile cannot be converted into an IQ score. A 99th percentile rank means your child’s score was equal to or higher than the scores of 99 percent of children of the same age or grade on that test. That is a very high result, and it is a CogAT result only. An IQ score comes from an IQ test.
Is the CogAT the same as the WISC-V?
No. The CogAT is a group test given at school, and its publisher describes it as measuring developed reasoning abilities in verbal, quantitative and nonverbal areas. The WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) is an IQ test given one-on-one by a licensed psychologist. They are different tests, given in different ways, and their scores are not interchangeable.
Is a CogAT Standard Age Score the same as an IQ score?
No. The Standard Age Score has an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 16, is reported from 50 to 160, and compares your child with children of the same age who took the CogAT. A shared average of 100 does not make it an IQ score, and an SAS of 130 does not mean an IQ of 130.
Can a CogAT score tell me if my child is gifted?
Not on its own. Schools often use the CogAT to help identify students for gifted and talented programs, but they usually look at several kinds of information, such as ability tests, achievement tests, teacher observations or rating scales, and work samples. Rules and cutoffs vary by district, so ask your school or district how decisions are made where you live.
Should my child take an IQ test after the CogAT?
That depends on your child and your situation, and it is not something a website can decide. If you are wondering whether an individual evaluation would add useful information, ask your school first, and talk with a licensed psychologist about what testing involves and what it could tell you. A CogAT result, high or low, does not by itself call for one.