For the UAE and international schools
CAT4 practice tests
CAT4, the Cognitive Abilities Test from GL Assessment, shows how a child reasons with words, numbers, shapes and space. Schools in the UK and international schools around the world use it. There is no pass mark: schools use the results to understand how each child learns best.
Our CAT4-style practice has a paper for each of the four batteries at each level, with the real test's kinds of question, five choices on every question and the real test's time. Every paper is new when your child starts it, and the score shows straight away.
Start a test
Choose your child’s level
GL Assessment sets one level for each school year. Pick the one for your child’s current year or grade, then a battery. Sitting is free; you will be asked to make a free account.
- Level AYear 4 · Grade 3Ages 7 years 6 months to 9 years 11 monthsPractise Level A
- Level BYear 5 · Grade 4Ages 8 years 6 months to 10 years 11 monthsPractise Level B
- Level CYear 6 · Grade 5Ages 9 years 6 months to 11 years 11 monthsPractise Level C
- Level DYear 7 · Grade 6Ages 10 years 6 months to 12 years 11 monthsPractise Level D
- Level EYear 8 · Grade 7Ages 11 years 6 months to 13 years 11 monthsPractise Level E
- Level FYear 9 · Grade 8Ages 12 years 6 months to 15 years 11 monthsPractise Level F
The test
Four batteries
| Battery | The real test | Our practice |
|---|---|---|
| Non-verbal reasoning | Figure classification and figure matrices: 24 questions each, 10 minutes each | One paper of 48 questions in 20 minutes |
| Verbal reasoning | Verbal classification and verbal analogies: 24 questions each, 8 minutes each | One paper of 48 questions in 16 minutes |
| Quantitative reasoning | Number analogies (10 minutes) and number series (8 minutes): 18 questions each | One paper of 36 questions in 18 minutes |
| Spatial reasoning | Figure analysis (fold and punch) and figure recognition: 18 questions each, 9 minutes each | One paper of 36 questions in 18 minutes |
GL publishes each battery's total and each test's time. The real test is sat in three parts, each test with its own instructions and practice questions first; our papers put each battery's two tests back to back.
In the UAE
Who sits CAT4
In the UAE, schools in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates are expected to run a cognitive test such as CAT4 in Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9, and Ras Al Khaimah asks for CAT4 or a test like it in the same grades. Schools in Abu Dhabi may choose to run one. Some schools also ask for CAT4 scores when a child applies.
A look at the test
Questions in the CAT4 style
Quantitative: number analogies
[ 11 → 2 ] [ 29 → 20 ] [ 23 → ? ]
Find the rule that turns each first number into the second. Which number should replace the question mark?
- A15
- B13
- C5
- D38
- E14
Spatial: figure recognition
Which picture has this shape hidden in it? The shape must be the same way round.
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
Verbal: verbal classification
apple plum grape
These three words are alike in some way. Which word goes with them?
- Adash
- Bbanana
- Cbread
- Dsprint
- Ecarrot
Pricing
Sitting is free. The answers are US$79.
Every practice test is free to sit, as often as you like. The pack shows your child what they got right, the right answers and how to reach them, on every CAT4 practice paper at every level.
CAT4 practice pack
US$79
for 6 months
- Which questions your child got right, after every practice test
- The right answer to every question
- A worked solution for every question, step by step
- All four batteries, at every level from A to F
One payment in US dollars for 6 months of access. No auto-renewal: when the 6 months end, access stops unless you buy again.
Questions
What parents ask
- Are these real CAT4 questions?
- No. We write our own questions in the style of the question types GL Assessment publishes. The real questions are only seen on the day.
- Which level should my child sit?
- GL sets one level for each school year: Level A for Year 4 in England (Grade 3 in the UAE and most international schools), up to Level F for Year 9 (Grade 8). Choose the level for your child's current year.
- Should my child practise for CAT4?
- GL Assessment advises against practising, because CAT4 is meant to show how a child thinks rather than what they have learned. Many families still want their child to meet each kind of question and the timer once, so the day holds no surprises. That is what these papers are for: a few sittings, not weeks of drilling.
- How is CAT4 scored?
- Each battery gives a Standard Age Score, where 100 is the average for a child's age, and the school sees how the four batteries compare. Our practice shows the number of questions answered correctly in each battery, not a Standard Age Score.
- Is it free?
- Sitting is free: make a free account and your child can sit as many papers as you like. The pack (US$79) shows which questions were right, the right answers and a worked solution for each.
CAT4 is a registered trademark of GL Assessment Limited, a Renaissance company. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by GL Assessment, Renaissance or any school. Our practice questions are written by us in the style of CAT4's published question types; they are not real CAT4 questions, and a practice score is not a CAT4 score.