CAT 4 Level A Test Online Preparation, Tips & Free Practice Questions – 2025
What Is the CAT 4 Level A Test?
The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) 4 Level A is a type of aptitude test designed to measure the cognitive abilities of children. This test can be used as a type of entrance exams for public and private schools in the UK and Ireland, and can also be used to admit children into a gifted and talented program. The CAT 4 Level A is administered to children that are between 7 and 9 years of age, or are in Year 4 of school. Additionally, the test will include several sections that will test children’s ability to understand new topics.
What Are CAT 4 Level A’s Test Sections?
The CAT 4 Level A will include four sections that are also known as batteries. Within each battery there will be two additional subsections that test specific knowledge in that area. Each subsection will have a limited amount of time that all questions need to be completed in. The CAT 4 Level A includes the following batteries and subsections.
Verbal Reasoning
- Verbal Classification: The Verbal Classification subsection includes 24 questions and an 8-minute time limit. This subsection includes three words that have similar meanings. Students will choose one of five other words that are presented that fit the same meaning as the first three.
- Verbal Analogies: The Verbal Analogies subsection includes 24 questions and an 8-minute time limit. This subsection includes three words that are presented as “1 to 2: 3 to __” with 1, 2, and 3, representing vocabulary words. The first two words will relate to each other, and the third word will relate in the same way with one of the answer options.
Quantitative Reasoning
- Number Analogies: The Number Analogies subsection includes 18 questions and a 10-minute time limit. This subsection includes three numbers that are presented as “1 to 2: 3 to __.” The first two number will relate to each other in a mathematical way, and the third number will relate in the same way with one of the answer options.
- Number Series: The Number Series subsection includes 18 questions and an 8-minute time limit. This subsection includes a series of numbers that follow a mathematical progression. Students need to choose one number that follows the progression.
Nonverbal Reasoning
- Figure Classification: The Figure Classification subsection includes 24 questions and a 10-minute time limit. This subsection includes three shapes that have similar patterns. Students will choose one of five other shapes that are presented that fit the same pattern as the first.
- Figure Matrices: The Figure Matrices subsection includes 24 questions and a 10-minute time limit. This subsection includes a 2×2 matrix with the top row including two related shapes. The bottom row includes one shape that is related in the same way with one of the answer options.
Spatial Ability
- Figure Analysis: The Figure Analysis subsection includes 18 questions and a 9-minute time limit. This subsection includes a piece of paper that is folded and filled with hole punches. Students will imagine how the paper would look unfolded and choose the answer that depicts their image.
- Figure Recognition: The Figure Recognition subsection includes 18 questions and a 9-minute time limit. This subsection presents the students with a single shape. Students must look through five choices of complex shape designs and choose one that contains the initial single shape.
How to Read CAT 4 Level A’s Score Report
- Raw Score: This is the number of questions answered correctly added together and shown over the total possible answers.
- Standard Age Score (SAS): The raw score is compared with other students and the result is the SAS score. The average SAS result is a score of 100.
- National Percentile Rank (NPR): The SAS result is converted into a percentage that shows the percentage of students that your child scored higher than.
- Stanine (ST): A broad score between 1 and 9 that represents your child’s cognitive abilities, with 9 being an exceptionally high score.
CAT 4 Level A Test Tips
- Students should not spend too much time on a single question. Each subsection has a limited amount of time for the completion of every question. This means that students need to be aware that they cannot waste a couple of minutes answering a single question. Students need to answer difficult questions and move on in order to complete the entire section in time.
- Read the entire explanation. Practice exams come with explanations that teach you about why questions were answered right or wrong. Make sure you and your child read these explanations in their entirety.
How to Prepare for the CAT 4 Level A Test?
The CAT 4 Level A Test include several sections that need to be studied for. Students should use online practice exams to prepare themselves and to cover the wide variety of knowledge that is tested on the exam. The information included on this test may seem unfamiliar to your child, and that’s because it is. The CAT 4 Level A is an aptitude test designed to assess a child’s problem-solving skills. Practice exams will familiarize your child on how to answer difficult questions and how to recognize obscure patterns. Practice exams are vital for children that wish to score well on the CAT 4 Level A Test.
CAT 4 Level A Test Sample Questions
Pattern Completion Example Question:
Which of the following answer options completes the design?
Explanation: Examine the pattern in the square while keeping an eye out for the missing box. Imagine continuing all the corners and lines of each shape. The only answer choice that conforms to these requirements is answer choice C. It is helpful to use distinguishing lines to see that they stay consistent throughout the entire picture and missing section. We will focus on the straight lines in this question. You can also use the process of elimination to remove answer choices that are incorrect. We anticipate that the way they line up in response choices will be comparable to how they line up in the design. In that manner, we can remove the response options that are not appropriate.
Analogy Example Question:
The empty box must be related to the other in the same way the top two boxes are related. Which of the following answer options can fill the empty box?
Explanation: Look at the top row. In the box, there is a green triangle on top of a pink circle. In the box next to it, there is a green circle on top of a pink triangle. Comparing the two boxes we see that the colors stay, while the figures are reversed. You should pick a box from the A, B, C or D options that will continue the analogy. Keeping the colors the same we know that purple should be on top and orange on the bottom. The figures need to switch meaning there should be a rectangle on top and “u” shape on the bottom. The only answer choice that conforms to these requirements is answer choice D.
Spatial Visualization Example Question:
Which of the following answer options completes the design of the bottom row?
Explanation: Look at the top row and see how the shapes change from the left frame to the right frame. In the right frame, the shapes from the outside flip into the frame (as if they were attached to the side and were closed like the flaps of a box). In the bottom row, they should do the same. Therefore, the missing frame should contain all the shapes in the left square but simply be turned inside. The only answer choice that conforms to these requirements is answer choice D.