Guide · updated October 2026

CAT4 in Dubai and the UAE: a guide for parents

If your child's school has sent a letter about "CAT4", here is what it means, why schools use it, and how to help your child feel ready.

What is CAT4?

CAT4 (the Cognitive Abilities Test, fourth edition) is a reasoning test published by GL Education. It doesn't test what children have learned in lessons. Instead it looks at how they think, across four areas:

Verbal reasoning: thinking with words (verbal classification and verbal analogies).
Quantitative reasoning: thinking with numbers and patterns (number analogies and number series).
Non-verbal reasoning: thinking with shapes and figures (figure classification and figure matrices).
Spatial reasoning: picturing shapes in your head (figure analysis, with folded and punched paper, and figure recognition, finding a hidden shape).

The digital test for most year groups (Levels A to G) is given in three parts with fixed time limits for each question type, about 72 minutes of questions in total.

Schools use the results to understand how each child learns best, and to set expectations for progress.

Which grades sit CAT4 in Dubai?

Most Dubai private schools give CAT4 as part of the external assessments KHDA asks schools to run. GL Education's guidance for the 2026–27 school year lists Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 (Years 4, 6, 8 and 10) as the core year groups, with newer schools advised to test every grade from 3 to 9. Your school may test other year groups too, so check its letter.

Grade (American / IB / UAE)	Year (British)	Typical age
Grade 3	Year 4	8–9
Grade 5	Year 6	10–11
Grade 7	Year 8	12–13
Grade 9	Year 10	14–15

When does testing happen?

Testing happens near the start of the school year. For 2026–27 the CAT4 window runs from 31 August to 20 November 2026. Schools choose their own dates within the window, so the letter from your school is the best guide.

Other GL tests your child may sit

Alongside CAT4, KHDA expects Dubai schools to run a reading test and curriculum tests. Many use GL's NGRT reading test three times a year and the GL Progress Tests in English, maths and science each May and June.

Does CAT4 affect admissions?

Sometimes. Some UAE schools ask applicants for recent CAT4 results, or use their own reasoning tests in a similar style, especially for entry into the older year groups or for limited places. Requirements differ from school to school, so check with the admissions team directly. We've gathered what individual schools publish in Dubai schools that use CAT4 in admissions.

How can I help my child prepare?

GL Education strongly advises against any kind of practice before CAT4, because it can make the scores less reliable. CAT4 measures reasoning, not learnt knowledge, so cramming doesn't help a child. What genuinely helps is making the day feel familiar and calm:

Familiarity. Seeing each question type once or twice means nothing feels strange on the day.
Calm. Explain that it's not a pass-or-fail test; it helps teachers understand how they think.
Pacing. Practise moving on from a tricky question instead of getting stuck.
Sleep and breakfast. Boring, but it matters more than anything else.

Sources

Edzuno is independent and not affiliated with GL Education, KHDA or ADEK. Always check details with your child's school.