Parent guide

CAT4 glossary

Every term you'll meet on a CAT4 report or in a school letter, in plain English. Have a report in front of you? The score checker explains your child's numbers.

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CAT4 · Battery · Question types (subtests) · Raw score · Standard Age Score (SAS) · Mean CAT4 score · Stanine (ST) · National Percentile Rank (NPR) · Group rank (GR) · Confidence band · Profile (verbal or spatial bias) · Score range · Questions attempted · Indicators · Practice examples · KHDA

CAT4: The Cognitive Abilities Test, fourth edition, published by GL Assessment (GL Education). It measures reasoning with words, numbers, shapes and patterns, and spatial images, rather than what has been taught in class. Only schools can buy it. [3]
Battery: One of CAT4's four groups of tests: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and spatial ability. Each battery has two short tests, and each gets its own score. [1]
Question types (subtests): The eight short tests: verbal classification and verbal analogies; number analogies and number series; figure classification and figure matrices; figure analysis and figure recognition. [1]
Raw score: The number of questions answered correctly. CAT4 converts it into a Standard Age Score, which allows for the child's age. [1]
Standard Age Score (SAS): The main CAT4 score. The raw score is adjusted for the child's exact age and compared with a nationally representative sample of children of the same age. 100 is average. Schools outside the UK use scores based on the UK sample. [1]
Mean CAT4 score: The average of the four battery SAS scores. GL advises focusing on the four separate scores more than the mean, especially when they differ. [1]
Stanine (ST): A broad band from 1 (low) to 9 (high). Stanines 4 to 6 are average (SAS 89 to 111); 7 and 8 are above average; 9 is very high (SAS 127 and above). [2]
National Percentile Rank (NPR): The percentage of children of the same age who scored the same or lower. An NPR of 50 is average; 95 means a score in the top 5% nationally. It's not the percentage of questions answered correctly. [1][2]
Group rank (GR): Where the child came within the group tested at school, such as the class or year group. An "=" means a tie with other pupils. [1]
Confidence band: The range a score would be expected to fall in on 9 out of 10 test occasions, shown as a line either side of the score. For CAT4 it's typically about 5 points either side, so small differences between scores aren't meaningful. [1]
Profile (verbal or spatial bias): A comparison of the verbal and spatial scores, in one of seven categories from extreme verbal bias, through no bias, to extreme spatial bias. About two in three pupils have no bias. A profile describes relative strengths, not a fixed learning style. [1]
Score range: CAT4 Levels A to G report SAS from 59 to 141. The levels for younger children, X and Y, report 69 to 131, because shorter tests can't reliably separate the very highest and lowest scores. [1]
Questions attempted: How many questions the child answered in each battery. A child who worked slowly but accurately and didn't finish may score lower than their reasoning suggests. [1]
Indicators: Estimates of likely future performance that teachers can see with CAT4 results. GL says they're most useful alongside other information about the child. [3]
Practice examples: Untimed example questions at the start of each section, which can be repeated before the timed questions begin. [3]
KHDA: Dubai's private-schools regulator. Its assessment framework includes cognitive assessments in Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 (Years 4, 6, 8 and 10 in UK-curriculum schools), which is one reason CAT4 is common in Dubai. [4]

See the question types in action

Each of the eight CAT4 question types has a guide with worked examples, and free practice questions with explanations.

CAT4 question types Test day guide

Sources

Edzuno is independent and not affiliated with GL Education (GL Assessment). CAT4 is a trademark of GL Education.