ITASCA, Ill. – Riverside Insights®, a leading developer of research-based assessments and analytics, today introduced www.CogAT.com, a new microsite to support Riverside’s CogAT® in the Classroom initiative. This online portal provides resources to transform Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT) assessment data into tailored classroom instruction that enables all students to thrive. Designed for teachers, administrators and parents, CogAT.com’s tools support a positive learning environment by encouraging differentiated learning through a strengths-based lens.
“Data collected as part of the CogAT is extremely powerful, yet most school districts are not optimizing its use to better understand how all students learn, then applying that in the classroom,” said Dr. Joni Lakin, professor at the University of Alabama and co-author of the CogAT. “Riverside’s CogAT in the Classroom initiative is making it easier than ever to use CogAT data effectively in the classroom to maximize student growth. On CogAT.com, we provide the tools that teachers, administrators and parents need to better understand the abilities of each student coupled with actionable strategies that will benefit every learner in the classroom.”
Using CogAT ability data and CogAT in the Classroom resources, educators can evaluate student potential using both abilities and achievement data and differentiate instruction based on students’ cognitive reasoning strengths. Infusing ability data into the classroom environment helps teachers build a holistic understanding of each student’s potential and create tailored classroom instruction to provide more opportunities for all students to excel.
CogAT.com includes resources for:
- Teachers – The Ability Profile™ Finder offers instructional recommendations and strategies for each unique Ability Profile. Sample lesson plans show how to infuse CogAT data into differentiated instruction. Teachers also can access resources that outline proven strategies for easily grouping students of like abilities, while providing best practices, case studies and on-demand mini-modules that show CogAT in the Classroom in action.
- Administrators – A Gifted Coordinator Toolkit highlights best practices for using ability data in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), supporting emerging bilinguals in gifted education, and clustering and grouping students to maximize their learning. A Local Norms Tool enables administrators to calculate local norms in their district or school, giving more students the opportunity to receive advanced placement services. And an Ability and Achievement Tool combines multiple measures to identify gaps in student potential and performance.
- Parents – Articles on how to understand ability data, as well as what parents can do to support learners at home and foster student strengths.
“CogAT traditionally has been used to identify gifted students, but by assessing all students, we can understand their verbal, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning abilities to better target strengths and opportunities in a more equitable way,” said Monica Simonds, M.Ed., Director of Advanced Learning Programs and Services for the Richardson (Texas) Independent School District. “CogAT in the Classroom is helping us flip the script and move from deficit-based to strengths-based instruction, creating a more positive and effective learning environment for students and teachers.”
To learn more about the CogAT in the Classroom initiative, Riverside Insights has developed a series of on-demand webinars. CogAT.com will be home to a growing resource library designed to support teachers and leaders with actionable insights, make teachers’ lives easier and help educators understand the power of using CogAT data in the classroom for all learners. Visit www.cogat.com for more details.
Riverside Insights, one of the nation’s leading and most long-standing developers of research-based assessments, is led by a powerful mission: to provide insights that help elevate potential and enrich the lives of students, clinical patients, employees, and organizations globally. For more information, visit www.RiversideInsights.com.
