Levels five through eight of the CAT are administered to students in kindergarten through second grade. Levels seven and eight differ slightly from levels five and six because they take into consideration the gradual changes in students' development and the subjects they study. The tests involve listening vocabulary (levels five and six) or reading vocabulary (levels seven and eight); word analysis; reading comprehension (levels six through eight in different degrees of difficulty) and listening, language and mathematics. Levels seven and eight add social studies, science and source of information topics.
Levels nine through 14 of CATs are designed for third- through eighth-grade students. They evaluate vocabulary; reading comprehension; spelling; issues related to sentence structure, usage and expression; math concepts, computation, problem solving estimation and data interpretation; social studies; science; reference materials; maps and diagrams. Word analysis and listening only in level nine tests. CAT levels nine through 14 are administered to evaluate students' achievements and developmental changes from one year to another year.
CATs have different batteries of questions to evaluate verbal (word), non-verbal (shape) and numerical (number) skills. The verbal battery may ask students to complete sentences, to make appropriate analogies and to classify words. The numerical skills are evaluated by students completing series of numbers in logical sequence or build equations. The non-verbal battery deals with shapes or figures; for example, some questions may require students to identify the correct geometrical shape that is in a certain relationship with another by understanding the analogy between other shapes.
Inappropriate uses of CAT results have confused parents and were clarified by the press and specialists. The test is not designed to deny a child's enrollment in a grade or his advancement to a superior grade; it does not assess the effectiveness of an educational program, and it does not decide the objectives of a certain grade level. CAT results should be used to adapt instructional planning and to increase students' chances of having the individual support they need in the classroom.
Some students have high CAT results, but their scores in school subjects are not as good. On the other hand, some students have low CAT scores but good academic results. Teachers should consider a student's CAT results as a small part of her whole education performance and interpret them while considering her knowledge of school subjects, attitude toward learning, motivation, personal background and experiences.