Private school entry in Dallas and Houston
What is CATS testing?
Many independent schools in Dallas and Houston ask applicants to be tested through CATS, the Collaborative Academic Testing Service. CATS books the appointment, a trained tester gives the test, and one report goes to the schools you name.
It is not a paper or computer test. Your child sits with one adult, who asks each question out loud. Your child answers by talking, pointing or building, and the tester writes down what they do.
On the day
What to expect
- Which test
- A Wechsler intelligence scale: the preschool and early school version for children up to about age 7, and the children's version from about age 6.
- How it is given
- One to one, with a tester, in a quiet room. There is nothing to write.
- How long
- About half an hour for a 3-year-old and 40 to 50 minutes from age 4, with breaks if a child needs them.
- How often
- Once in an admission season, at one location. The report goes to every school on your list.
- What schools see
- Scores against children of the same age, read alongside school reports, visits and teacher forms.
From schools’ admission pages and parent guides. Each school sets its own rules, so check with the school.
The kinds of thinking
What the test looks at, and our practice for each
- Words and ideas
Knowing what words mean, and saying how two things are alike.
- CogAT verbal, picture questions read aloud Kindergarten to Grade 2
- CogAT verbal Grades 3 to 8
- Patterns and rules
Finding the rule in a set of pictures and choosing the piece that fits.
- Shapes and space
Seeing how pieces fit together, turn and fold.
- CogAT paper folding Grades 3 to 8
- Spatial reasoning Grades 5 to 8
- Holding things in mind
Remembering what was just seen or heard long enough to use it.
- Visual Memory, in spatial reasoning Grades 5 to 8
- Number sense
Working with amounts and simple number patterns, often without a pencil.
- NGAT quantitative, all pictures Kindergarten to Grade 9
- CogAT quantitative Kindergarten to Grade 8
The test also times some quick, careful matching tasks. We have no practice for those, and we do not think a young child needs any.
Before you start
Should my child practice?
There is no CATS test to practice, and schools say very little preparation is needed. What helps most is a child who is used to puzzles, comfortable working with a friendly adult, and rested on the day. Short, playful sessions on the kinds of thinking above do that; drilling does not.
Pricing
Three free practice tests. Unlimited tests and answers are US$49.
A free account includes 3 practice tests. A plan opens unlimited tests and shows your child what they got right, the right answers and how to reach them, on every CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT, NGAT, SCAT, InView, matrices and spatial reasoning test. Practicing for more than one kind of test? The US bundle covers them all for US$99.
Gifted test packLaunch price
US$49
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
- CogAT from Kindergarten to Grade 8, all three batteries
- NNAT and OLSAT from Kindergarten to Grade 12, NGAT to Grade 9
- SCAT-style Verbal and Quantitative for the CTY talent search, Grades 2 to 9
- InView-style practice, all five subtests, Grades 2 to 12
- Matrices-style picture reasoning from Kindergarten to Grade 8, and spatial reasoning for Grades 5 to 8
Every US testLaunch price
US$99
for 6 months
- Everything in every US pack, in one payment
- CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT and NGAT, for gifted and talented programs
- SCAT-style practice for the CTY talent search, Grades 2 to 9
- InView-style practice for gifted screening, Grades 2 to 12
- Matrices-style and spatial reasoning practice
- ISEE and SSAT, for private school entry
- HSPT and TACHS, for Catholic high school entry
- Hunter-style practice, for Hunter College High School
- Math contest practice, Grades 1 to 8
- MAP Growth practice, by grade and subject
- i-Ready-style Math and Reading, Kindergarten to Grade 8
- Early reading practice, Kindergarten to Grade 3
- SHSAT practice for Grades 8 and 9, English and math
- Iowa practice for Grades 3 to 8, all five Core tests
- TerraNova, Stanford 10 and CTP-style practice for Grades 3 to 8
- ACT-style English, Math, Reading and Science for Grades 10 to 12
- SAT-style and PSAT-style practice, Grades 8 to 12, Reading and Writing and Math
- State test practice: STAAR-style and CAASPP-style math and reading, Grades 3 to 8
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
- Is your practice the CATS test?
- No. CATS gives a test made by another publisher, one to one and out loud. Our practice is our own puzzles on screen, from other gifted tests, that work the same kinds of thinking.
- Can my child take the test twice?
- No. A child is tested once in an admission season, at one location, and the same report goes to every school on your list. That is one more reason to keep practice light.
- What age does my child need to be?
- Each school sets its own entry ages, from preschool up. CATS uses the early version of the test for younger children and the children's version from about age 6. Ask the school which grade your child is applying for.
- What does the gifted pack open?
- Unlimited CogAT, NNAT, NGAT, matrices and spatial reasoning practice tests, with the right answer and a worked solution for every question. It is US$49 for six months, and three practice tests are free.
CATS is run by the Collaborative Academic Testing Service. Wechsler, WPPSI and WISC are trademarks of their publisher. Scholar Tests is not connected with CATS, the test's publisher or any school, and our practice is not a CATS test. Check each school's admission page for its current testing rules.