CogAT · Level 8 · Grade 2

CogAT grade 2: the picture test many districts give every child

Grade 2 is the year a lot of districts screen everyone for gifted programs. At this level the CogAT is nine short subtests made of pictures, shapes and beads, with no reading. Here is what your child will see, when some large districts give it this year, and what happens to the score.

Start grade 2 practice →CogAT overview

Try five grade 2 CogAT-style questions

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No account needed for these. They are our own questions, not real CogAT items.

What a grade 2 child sees: nine subtests

Levels 5/6 to 8, kindergarten to grade 2, are picture-based and need no English reading. Riverside lists each subtest at roughly 10 to 15 minutes. The tick marks show which ones you can practise here.

Verbal battery

Picture Analogies

Two pictures go together in some way; the child finds the pair related the same way.

✓ Practise it here

Sentence Completion

The child hears a sentence or question read aloud, in English or Spanish, and picks the picture that completes or answers it.

Not in our practice yet

Picture Classification

Three pictures are alike in some way; the child picks the one that belongs with them.

Not in our practice yet

Quantitative battery

Number Analogies

A 2 x 2 grid, like picture analogies, but the relationship is about quantity.

✓ Practise it here

Number Puzzles

Two trains: the child picks the answer that makes the second train carry the same number of objects as the first.

✓ Practise it here

Number Series

Strings of beads make a pattern; the child picks the string that comes next.

✓ Practise it here

Nonverbal battery

Figure Matrices

A 2 x 2 grid of shapes with one missing; the change across the top has to be repeated below.

✓ Practise it here

Paper Folding

Paper is folded, cut or punched; the child pictures it unfolded.

✓ Practise it here

Figure Classification

Three figures share something; the child picks the one most like them.

✓ Practise it here

Source: Riverside Insights, CogAT Forms 7 and 8 overview. We are not affiliated with Riverside Insights.

When districts test grade 2 in 2026-27

A few large districts that screen every grade 2 child, each checked on the district's own site on October 15, 2026. Dates change, so follow the link before you plan around one.

Fairfax County, VA (FCPS)

All grade 2 students take a nationally normed ability test in October 2026 (FCPS does not name the test on this page). Grade 2 referrals for children who are not Universal Screener candidates are due December 15, 2026.

District page

Montgomery County, MD (MCPS)

Grade 2 students not already identified as gifted take the CogAT on December 14 to 16 (grade 4 on December 7 to 9). The page was updated September 15, 2026.

District page

Houston ISD, TX

Every grade 2 student is tested; no request needed. The fall 2026 window is October 5 to 23, with make-ups October 26 to 30, and results go home in December, in time for School Choice applications.

District page

Fort Bend ISD, TX

A cognitive abilities test is given to all grade 2 students in the fall semester as a universal screener.

District page

More districts and grades: gifted testing dates 2026-27 by district.

How the score is used

The CogAT compares your child with children of the same age in years and months, not with the rest of the class. That matters in grade 2, where the oldest and youngest children in a room can be almost a year apart. Results include a Standard Age Score and an age percentile rank.

What happens next is up to the district. Each one sets its own cutoff and most read the score next to other evidence, such as teacher input or work samples. In Fairfax County, for example, grade 2 families can still send a referral by December 15, 2026 for children who are not Universal Screener candidates.

More on score bands and the Ability Profile is on our CogAT practice page.

Questions parents ask

Which CogAT level does a grade 2 child take?
Level 8. Riverside publishes a separate CogAT level for each grade from kindergarten to grade 6; Levels 5/6 to 8 cover kindergarten to grade 2, and Level 9 is grade 3.
Does my grade 2 child need to read for the CogAT?
No. The kindergarten to grade 2 levels are picture-based. In Sentence Completion the teacher reads the sentence aloud, in English or Spanish, and the child answers by choosing a picture. Text-based Verbal and Quantitative items start at Level 9, in grade 3.
How long is the CogAT in grade 2?
There are nine subtests, three per battery. Riverside gives an approximate testing time of about 10 to 15 minutes for each one at Levels 5/6 to 8. Schools usually split them across sessions; ask your school how they schedule it.
What is the CogAT Screening Form?
A shorter version made of the analogies part of each battery: Picture Analogies, Number Analogies and Figure Matrices. Riverside puts it at about 30 minutes. Some districts use it to decide who sits the full test.
How are grade 2 CogAT scores used?
Scores are compared with children of the same age, in years and months, not with classmates. Districts then set their own cutoffs and usually read the CogAT alongside other evidence such as teacher input or work samples. Ask your district for this year's criteria rather than relying on a number from a prep site.
Is the CogAT the test my district gives in grade 2?
Not always. Montgomery County, MD names the CogAT. Fairfax County calls its grade 2 test a "nationally normed ability test" without naming it, and some districts use the NNAT, OLSAT or NGAT instead. Your district's gifted or advanced academics page will say.
Which grade 2 subtests can my child practise on iMasterly?
Seven of the nine: all three Nonverbal subtests, all three Quantitative subtests, and Picture Analogies from the Verbal battery. We do not yet have Sentence Completion or Picture Classification.

Ready for a full grade 2 practice test?

Picture-based questions at grade 2 level across seven of the nine subtests, with every wrong answer explained.

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Also see NNAT practice and OLSAT practice.