CogAT Tutoring

With so much to focus on for CogAT test prep, you need CogAT tutoring you can rely on. Natalie’s CogAT tutoring services includes complete test preparations for all 9 sub-sections. She works with children in grades 2-12, and her students are top scorers. She combine practice and strategies to help them find the right answers the first time. They also do vocabulary study, math review, and figure/shape activities to help them build on their concept knowledge and time management. Every child who has worked with her has scored in the 90th percentile or higher.

The CogAT is a gifted child test for grades K-12 that measures analytical and logic skills instead of concept knowledge. It has 3 major sections or batteries − Verbal, Non-Verbal, and Quantitative – and 9 different question types. The total number of questions ranges from 118 to 176, depending on grade level, and the time limit is anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Verbal

For younger children, the CogAT verbal section means matching pictures to words. For students in grades 3 and up, vocabulary knowledge and verbal reasoning connect to analogies, sentence completion, and verbal classification. The right study plan makes all the difference!

Non-Verbal

This is one of the trickiest sections of the CogAT. Children must recognize the patterns between shapes and apply the same patterns to other shapes. Make sure your children feel confident about figure matrices, figure classification, and paper folding, the most visual and hands-on sub-section.

Quantitative

Number puzzles, number analogies and number series test a number of skills, including how well children can see beyond the numbers. While one of the easiest sections to prepare for, the quantitative section can still be tough in terms of time management. That’s where targeted practice and strategy come in!

Tutoring includes:

Complete review of CogAT concepts with targeted practice

Math, non-verbal, and verbal online practice resources (varies by grade level)

Weekly feedback on student progress and homework completion

Timed practice sets

FAQ about Natalie’s test prep

Do you offer a full test prep program or classes?

I offer one-on-one lessons, not classes, where my tutoring adapts to the needs of every student. I guide students through their test prep with targeted concept review, strategies, and time management techniques. I do not have a one-size-fits-all approach or set curriculum for everyone to follow.

What does a typical lesson with you look like?

Test preparation is a combination of concept review and test-taking strategies. I help my students not just get to the right answer, but also understand how they got to the right answer and what makes it correct. They also learn how to methodically approach questions and answers. A typical lesson for a reading comprehension test section would be working through a number of passages with test-specific questions, for example, or for math test sections, working through practice questions and any needed concept review for those questions at the same time. A good amount of lesson time is spent on mastering strategies and building good time management skills. By understanding how a test works and how the testmakers have created the questions, students better learn how to take that test with minimal stress and maximum success.

Can you guarantee a score increase on the actual test?

Successful test prep depends entirely on a student’s commitment to a study plan, daily practice, and application of strategies and techniques learned during lessons. I personally cannot promise that any student will definitely raise scores just because of my tutoring. However, students who practiced diligently and listened to my advice during lessons — and applied it — did in fact raise their scores significantly.

How many lessons will my child need?

Some students need more support, while others need less. Guessing how many lessons a student needs requires more information. To start, I always ask for practice test results or previous test results to help me see where we need to focus our efforts the most. I also ask about what test prep, if any, you have done so far, and what your specific test score goals are. Your test preparation should start as early as possible before a test date. If your child has any struggles or gaps in a specific subject area, like math, reading or vocabulary, then they will most likely need more tutoring than the average student.