The great virtue of CAT results is that they are a lot less dependent upon a student's classroom and learning experiences than are tests of knowledge. • CAT scores can provide a measure of a child's ability largely independent of which school he or she went to, and what experiences he or she had there. • As a way of setting targets for individual children, for example, CAT scores are a lot fairer than attainment test results, such as KS2 tests, would be. • CAT scores can be compared over time, so that, for example, the student’s ability over successive years can be compared. • Another great benefit of the CAT is in the diagnostic use that can be made of For example, a specific language difficulty (such as “dyslexia”) might be presented in a low score on the Verbal Reasoning test or a specific arithmetic difficulty may show with a low Quantitative Reasoning score. It should be stressed that it is important to recognise the experience and skills that are presupposed in all children if the CAT tests are to provide valid assessments. • Any child whose skill in reading is adversely affected by dyslexia cannot therefore be validly assessed for reasoning ability with the CAT or any other test that uses written words (although the Quantitative and Non-verbal tests may provide valuable alternative evidence). • Students with dyscalculic difficulties or simply very low attainment in number skills will be unfairly disadvantaged on the Quantitative test. • CAT scores alone cannot be used for diagnostic purposes. It is appropriate to follow up the CAT results for such pupils with further one-to-one assessment. • Students may find difficulty understanding the types of with questions that are presented on the test, therefore, a familiarization or practice test should be given beforehand. What are the disadvantages of CAT4? What are the advantages of CAT4? GL Assessment CAT 4 The UK’s most widely used test of reasoning abilities
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The great virtue of CAT results is that they are a lot less dependent upon a student's classroom and learning experiences than are tests of knowledge.
• CAT scores can provide a measure of a child's ability largely independent of which school he or she went to, and what experiences he or she had there.
• As a way of setting targets for individual children, for example, CAT scores are a lot fairer than attainment test results, such as KS2 tests, would be.
• CAT scores can be compared over time, so that, for example, the student’s ability over successive years can be compared.
• Another great benefit of the CAT is in the diagnostic use that can be made of For example, a specific language difficulty (such as “dyslexia”) might be presented in a low score on the Verbal Reasoning test or a specific arithmetic difficulty may show with a low Quantitative Reasoning score.
It should be stressed that it is important to recognise the experience and skills that are presupposed in all children if the CAT tests are to provide valid assessments.
• Any child whose skill in reading is adversely affected by dyslexia cannot therefore be validly assessed for reasoning ability with the CAT or any other test that uses written words (although the Quantitative and Non-verbal tests may provide valuable alternative evidence).
• Students with dyscalculic difficulties or simply very low attainment in number skills will be unfairly disadvantaged on the Quantitative test.
• CAT scores alone cannot be used for diagnostic purposes. It is appropriate to follow up the CAT results for such pupils with further one-to-one assessment.
• Students may find difficulty understanding the types of with questions that are presented on the test, therefore, a familiarization or practice test should be given beforehand.
What are the disadvantages of CAT4?
What are the advantages of CAT4? GL Assessment
CAT 4
The UK’s most widely used test of reasoning
abilities
1
The CAT4 is available in both paper and digital editions and can be administered individually or as group test. The test content of each is identical, with CAT4 Digital offering the same validity and robustness of its paper-based equivalent, alongside added benefit of immediate scoring and reporting.
It is simple to use and can be administered by any teacher, or tutor. Each battery (Verbal, Non-Verbal, Quantitative and Spatial Ability) consists of two tests which take 8 to 10 minutes each to complete. In total, the CAT4 should take no longer than 45 minutes including instructions, examples and practice questions. The CAT4 is administered in in three parts and breaks are taken.
For paper users, students are required to write their answers directly onto answer sheets. It is then submitted to GL Assessment as part of the CAT4 Scoring and Analysis Service and computer scored.
2
The test is not available for hand scoring. Computerised scoring has the advantage of ensuring complete accuracy and also provides individual and group reports, which would not be available via hand scoring. With Testwise being so flexible, administration tasks can be done from any computer, whether in school or at home. Once a test has been purchased students can be set up to take the test.
The CAT4 Digital is scored automatically on completion of the tests. Teachers and administrators can access reports through their school’s online account and reports can be generated immediately. CAT4 Digital users will automatically receive a rich and very comprehensive report.
Teachers can use these reports to highlight areas of both strength and challenges for individual students them indications and use as a starting point for further investigation if a learning disability is suspected.
Who administers the Cat4 and how is it administered? What is the purpose of the CAT4? The CAT4 assesses a student’s ability to reason with and manipulate different types of materials through a series of Verbal, Non-Verbal, Quantitative and Spatial Ability task. Together, these four tests provide teachers with a comprehensive profile of a student’s reasoning abilities, and as such the core abilities related to learning. The results can then be used to identify a student’s strengths, weaknesses and learning.
Reference: GL Assessment (online) Available at: http://www.gl-‐assessment.co.uk
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