# CogAT sample questions for every question type

> Here is one CogAT-style sample question for each of the nine question types, grouped by battery, with the answer explained under each. The K–2 picture versions come first, then the word and number versions children see from 3rd grade.

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

## Key takeaways

- The CogAT has nine question types in three batteries: Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal.
- In K–2, every question is read aloud and every answer is a picture; from 3rd grade, verbal and quantitative questions use words and numbers.
- Nonverbal questions (Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, Figure Classification) use shapes at every grade and get harder with age.
- Let your child try each sample first, then ask “How did you know?” before you show the answer.
- These are original practice questions in the same formats as the CogAT, not real test items.

## How to use these samples with your child

Each sample below is one question in the same format as a real [CogAT®](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/) subtest, with a “Show the answer” button underneath. The answer matters less than the conversation around it. Try this:

1. **Read the question aloud for K–2.** Read the words in the question box once, at a calm pace, the way a teacher would. From 3rd grade, let your child read it alone.
2. **Let your child choose without help.** No hints and no pointing. Waiting quietly is the hard part for parents.
3. **Ask “How did you know?”** before you open the answer. The explanation tells you more than the choice itself.
4. **Open the answer together.** If the choice was wrong, talk about why it looked right. Wrong answers are often tempting for a reason.
5. **Stop after a few.** Three or four samples is plenty for one sitting with a young child.

These are original practice questions from Thinkling, written in the same formats as the CogAT. They are **not real test items**, and one question per type shows the format, not how your child will score.

## Verbal battery samples

The Verbal battery is about words and the ideas behind them. In kindergarten to 2nd grade, every question is read aloud and every answer is a picture, so no reading is needed.

### Picture analogies

In [Verbal Analogies](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/verbal-analogies/), the first two pictures go together in some way. Notice whether your child can say the link as a sentence before looking at the choices, and whether they skip a choice that just repeats a picture from the first pair.

> **Sample question: Picture Analogies · K–2**
>
> Read aloud: “Look at the first two pictures. They go together. Which picture goes with the mouse in the same way?”
>
> Question: [rabbit] → [carrot] [mouse] → ?
>
> Choices: A) [cheese] · B) [carrot] · C) [books]
>
> **Answer: A.** A rabbit eats a carrot, so a mouse eats cheese. The carrot is a trap: it belongs to the first pair, not to the mouse.

### Sentence Completion

In [Sentence Completion](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/sentence-completion/), your child hears a question and picks the picture that answers it. Notice whether they wait for the whole question: the choices can be close cousins, so careful listening is what separates them.

> **Sample question: Sentence Completion · K–2**
>
> Read aloud: “Which one makes honey?”
>
> Choices: A) [spider] · B) [bee] · C) [butterfly]
>
> **Answer: B.** Bees make honey. The spider and the butterfly are small animals too, which is what makes them tempting.

### Picture classification

In [Verbal Classification](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/verbal-classification/), three pictures belong together. Notice whether your child can name what all three have in common, then check each choice against that idea instead of picking the one that simply looks similar.

> **Sample question: Picture Classification · K–2**
>
> Read aloud: “These three pictures are alike in some way. Which picture goes with them?”
>
> Question: [shark] [tropical fish] [crab]
>
> Choices: A) [sun] · B) [whale] · C) [rose]
>
> **Answer: B.** A shark, a fish and a crab all live in the sea. So does a whale.

## Quantitative battery samples

The Quantitative battery is about numbers and amounts. For K–2 it uses pictures, so counting carefully and spotting a change matter more than arithmetic.

### Number Analogies

In [Number Analogies](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/number-analogies/), an amount changes from the first picture to the second. Notice whether your child checks two things in the answer: how many, and what kind of object.

> **Sample question: Number Analogies · K–2**
>
> Read aloud: “The first two pictures go together. Which picture goes with the strawberries in the same way?”
>
> Question: → → ?
>
> Choices: A) (picture) · B) (picture) · C) (picture)
>
> **Answer: A.** Five carrots became six carrots: one more of the same thing. Two strawberries become three strawberries. Three carrots has the right number but the wrong thing.

### Number Puzzles

In [Number Puzzles](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/number-puzzles/), two trains must carry the same number of things. Notice whether your child counts the full train first, then works out what is missing from the other one.

> **Sample question: Number Puzzles (two trains) · K–2**
>
> Read aloud: “Both trains should carry the same number of apples. Which car finishes the bottom train?”
>
> Question: Top train: 3 apples and 5 apples ? Bottom train: 4 apples and an empty car
>
> Choices: A) (picture) · B) (picture) · C) (picture)
>
> **Answer: A.** The top train carries 3 + 5 = 8 apples. The bottom train has 4, so it needs 4 more: 4 + 4 = 8.

### Number Series

In [Number Series](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/number-series/), the beads on an abacus follow a pattern. Notice whether your child compares neighboring rods to see how much changes each time, instead of guessing from the last rod alone.

> **Sample question: Number Series (bead abacus) · K–2**
>
> Read aloud: “The beads on the abacus follow a pattern. Which rod comes next?”
>
> Question: ?
>
> Choices: A) (picture) · B) (picture) · C) (picture)
>
> **Answer: C.** Each rod has 2 more beads than the one before: 2, 4, 6, 8… so the next rod has 10.

## Nonverbal battery samples

The Nonverbal battery uses only shapes and figures. The format stays the same from kindergarten to 5th grade; the questions simply get harder with age.

### Figure Matrices

In [Figure Matrices](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/figure-matrices/), one shape changes into another. Notice whether your child names the exact change (size, shading, line or position) and applies only that change to the new shape.

> **Sample question: Figure Matrices · K–5**
>
> The plus sign changes in a certain way. Which answer shows the diamond changed in the same way?
>
> **Answer: C.** The outline gets thicker, so the thin diamond becomes a thick diamond. B is unchanged and A changes the line style in a different way.

### Paper Folding

In [Paper Folding](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/paper-folding/), a sheet is folded, then cut or punched. Notice whether your child remembers that a cut goes through every layer of the folded paper. If not, fold a real sheet and try it together.

> **Sample question: Paper Folding (cuts) · K–5**
>
> The folded paper is cut along the fold. What does it look like unfolded?
>
> **Answer: C.** A cut on the fold opens up into a shape twice as big: the triangle becomes a diamond and the half-rectangle becomes a square.

### Figure Classification

In [Figure Classification](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/figure-classification/), three shapes are alike in some way. Notice whether your child looks past the outline to shading, size and lines, since the shared rule is not always the shape itself.

> **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.

## For grade 3 and up: words and numbers

From Level 9, usually in [3rd grade](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/3rd-grade/), children read the questions on their own and each subtest is timed at 10 minutes. The verbal and quantitative questions switch from pictures to words and numbers; Sentence Completion and Verbal Classification switch to written words too. The nonverbal questions keep the same picture format, with harder rules.

### Verbal Analogies with words

The thinking is the same as with pictures, but now your child has to read, picture the meaning and name the relationship. Watch for a choice that repeats a word from the first pair.

> **Sample question: Verbal Analogies · Grades 3–5**
>
> Eye is to glasses as hand is to…
>
> Question: eye → glasses hand → ?
>
> Choices: A) glasses · B) spider · C) gloves
>
> **Answer: C.** You wear glasses on your eyes and gloves on your hands. “Glasses” repeats the first pair, a common trap.

### Number Analogies with numbers

Pairs of numbers follow one rule. Notice whether your child tests the rule on every pair given, not just the first one.

> **Sample question: Number Analogies · Grades 3–5**
>
> Find the rule in the first two pairs. Which number completes the last pair?
>
> Question: 8 → 10 20 → 22 16 → ?
>
> Choices: A) 16 · B) 17 · C) 18
>
> **Answer: C.** Each number goes up by 2: 8 + 2 = 10 and 20 + 2 = 22, so 16 + 2 = 18.

### Number Puzzles as equations

A short equation has a missing number. Notice whether your child checks the answer by putting it back into the equation.

> **Sample question: Number Puzzles · Grades 3–5**
>
> Which number should replace the question mark?
>
> Question: ? + 5 = 14
>
> Choices: A) 9 · B) 11 · C) 14
>
> **Answer: A.** Work backward: 14 − 5 = 9, and 9 + 5 = 14.

### Number Series with numbers

A row of numbers follows a rule. Encourage your child to write the change between neighbors above the row (+2, −3 and so on) to make the pattern visible.

> **Sample question: Number Series · Grades 3–5**
>
> Which number comes next?
>
> Question: 44 41 38 35 32 ?
>
> Choices: A) 27 · B) 29 · C) 31
>
> **Answer: B.** Each number is 3 less than the one before: 32 − 3 = 29.

### Paper Folding with holes

Hole punches work like cuts. Notice whether your child imagines the paper unfolding one fold at a time and tracks where each hole lands.

> **Sample question: Paper Folding · K–5**
>
> A square sheet is folded in half and two holes are punched. How will it look when it is unfolded?
>
> **Answer: C.** Each hole goes through both layers, so every hole appears twice, mirrored across the fold line: four holes in all.

## What a sample can and can’t tell you

One question per type is a quick way to see each format and how your child approaches it: whether they listen to the whole question, check every choice and can explain their thinking. It can’t tell you how your child will do on the test, and a wrong answer on a first try is normal for a format that is new.

If you’d like to use these questions on paper, they are also collected as a [printable practice test](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/printable-practice-test/) with an answer key. For a full rehearsal in the real order, see our guide to [CogAT practice tests](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/practice-test/), and for a week-by-week plan, [how to prepare for the CogAT](https://www.thinklingapp.com/cogat/how-to-prepare/). Thinkling generates fresh questions in all nine formats every time, so a child practices the reasoning rather than remembering answers.

## Frequently asked questions

### What kind of questions are on the kindergarten CogAT?

Kindergartners take Level 5/6, where every question is read aloud by the teacher and every answer is a picture. Children choose pictures that go together, answer spoken questions, compare amounts, find what comes next on a bead abacus, and work with shapes, including imagining folded paper. No reading is needed, and the teacher sets the pace for the group.

### What do 2nd grade CogAT questions look like?

Second graders usually take Level 8, which keeps the same format as kindergarten and 1st grade: the teacher reads each question aloud, the answers are pictures, and there is no time limit. The questions are pitched for older children, so the relationships can be subtler. The samples in the first part of this page show that picture format.

### What changes in the 3rd grade CogAT questions?

From Level 9, usually in 3rd grade, children read the questions on their own and each subtest is timed at 10 minutes. Verbal questions use written words, and quantitative questions use numbers and short equations instead of pictures. The nonverbal questions keep the same picture format, with harder rules. The grade 3 section above shows those word and number versions.

### Are these real CogAT test questions?

No. They are original practice questions from Thinkling, written in the same formats as the nine CogAT subtests. They are not real test items. Practicing with original questions in the right format is an honest way to get familiar with the test, and each sample has exactly one right answer, explained under the question.

### What does a gifted and talented test question look like?

It depends on the test. The CogAT asks reasoning questions in three areas: words, numbers and shapes. The OLSAT uses verbal and nonverbal reasoning questions, and the NNAT uses only figures and shapes, such as completing a pattern. On the CogAT, questions for kindergarten to 2nd grade are picture-based and read aloud, so they test thinking rather than reading.

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CogAT® is a registered trademark of Riverside Assessments, LLC. OLSAT® and NNAT® are trademarks, in the US and/or other countries, of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). Other test names mentioned on this site (such as MAP Growth, the Iowa Assessments and the WISC-V) are trademarks of their respective owners. These trademark holders are not affiliated with, and do not sponsor or endorse, Thinkling. All questions are original.