CAT4 Scores and Levels: SAS, Percentiles, Stanines, and Profiles
A CAT4 report can include separate results for Verbal, Quantitative, Nonverbal, and Spatial reasoning. The most important score is usually the Standard Age Score, or SAS.
Parents may also see National Percentile Ranks, stanines, confidence bands, group ranks, and a mean score across batteries.
For parents:
CAT4 is designed to provide a reasoning profile. The pattern across the four batteries may be more useful than one overall number.
Optional TestPrep-Online preparation:
When your school permits practice, families can review TestPrep-Online CAT4 preparation packs, CAT4 practice test overview and TestPrep-Online Family Membership. Confirm the assessment, grade or level, current pack contents, access terms, and school policy before purchasing.
Which Scores Appear on a CAT4 Report?
Depending on the report, you may see:
- raw score;
- Standard Age Score;
- National Percentile Rank;
- stanine;
- confidence band;
- group rank;
- mean SAS;
- verbal, quantitative, nonverbal, and spatial battery results;
- a profile description or learning-bias indicator.
The school may provide a parent report, teacher report, group report, or a locally prepared summary.
What Is a CAT4 Raw Score?
The raw score reflects how many questions were answered correctly within a battery or subtest.
It is not normally the most useful score for parents because it does not adjust for age or show how the result compares with the norm group.
A raw score should not be converted into an unofficial percentage or pass mark.
What Is a CAT4 Standard Age Score?
The Standard Age Score adjusts the raw score for the student’s age and places it on a standardised scale.
GL Assessment identifies SAS as the main score used for CAT4 interpretation.
The scale has an average of 100.
A score above 100 is above the age-group average, while a score below 100 is below the age-group average. This does not mean that every difference from 100 is educationally significant.
What Is the Average CAT4 Score?
A SAS of 100 is the central average on the CAT4 scale.
A broad middle range is often represented by scores around the average. Reports may also group results into stanines or descriptive bands.
Parents should avoid treating 100 as a pass mark. It is a norm-referenced average, not a universal school threshold.
What Is the National Percentile Rank?
The National Percentile Rank, or NPR, shows how the student performed relative to students of the same age in the norm sample.
For example, an NPR of 84 means the student scored as well as or better than approximately 84% of students in the relevant age group.
It does not mean that 84% of the questions were answered correctly.
What Is a CAT4 Stanine?
A stanine places the score into one of nine broad bands.
GL Assessment’s CAT4 guidance relates stanines broadly to percentiles and SAS ranges:
| Stanine | Broad description | Approximate percentile range | Approximate SAS range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very low | 4 and below | 73 and below |
| 2 | Below average | 5–11 | 74–81 |
| 3 | Below average | 12–22 | 82–88 |
| 4 | Average | 23–40 | 89–96 |
| 5 | Average | 41–58 | 97–103 |
| 6 | Average | 59–77 | 104–111 |
| 7 | Above average | 78–89 | 112–118 |
| 8 | Above average | 90–96 | 119–126 |
| 9 | Very high | 97 and above | 127 and above |
Stanines are broad. A student close to a boundary should not be treated as fundamentally different from a student just across it.
What Is a Confidence Band?
A confidence band shows a range around the reported score.
It reflects the fact that every assessment score contains measurement uncertainty. If the student completed a comparable assessment again, the result might reasonably fall within that range.
Confidence bands are useful when comparing batteries.
Two point scores can look different while their confidence bands overlap. In that situation, the apparent difference may be less certain than the point scores suggest.
What Is the Mean SAS?
The mean SAS is an average across the battery scores.
It can provide a broad summary, but it may hide an uneven profile.
Two students with the same mean SAS can have very different patterns:
- one may have similar scores across all batteries;
- another may have a high Spatial score and a much lower Verbal score.
The battery pattern should therefore be reviewed alongside the mean.
The Four CAT4 Battery Scores
Verbal Reasoning
This battery measures reasoning with words and verbal relationships.
Performance may be influenced by:
- vocabulary;
- reading experience;
- English-language proficiency;
- familiarity with the language of the assessment.
A lower Verbal score does not automatically indicate weaker general reasoning.
Quantitative Reasoning
This battery measures reasoning with numbers and numerical relationships.
It is not simply a curriculum mathematics score.
Nonverbal Reasoning
This battery measures reasoning with figures, classifications, and visual patterns.
It reduces language demands but should not be described as completely culture-free.
Spatial Ability
This battery measures the ability to visualise, rotate, combine, or mentally manipulate shapes.
What Is a CAT4 Profile?
The profile describes the relationship between the battery scores.
A student may have:
- a relatively even profile;
- a relative verbal strength;
- a relative quantitative strength;
- a relative nonverbal strength;
- a relative spatial strength;
- substantial differences between batteries.
The profile can support questions about instruction, but it should not be converted into a fixed learning-style label.
What Is a Good CAT4 Score?
There is no single CAT4 score that is good for every student or school purpose.
A useful interpretation depends on:
- age;
- battery;
- confidence bands;
- the complete profile;
- school context;
- the reason for testing;
- classroom achievement;
- language background;
- other available evidence.
A high score does not automatically guarantee admission, gifted identification, a scholarship, or a particular set placement.
A lower score does not prove that a student lacks potential or has a learning disability.
Is There a CAT4 Passing Score?
CAT4 does not have one universal passing score.
A school may establish local criteria for:
- entrance decisions;
- setting or grouping;
- scholarship consideration;
- enrichment;
- additional support;
- further assessment.
Those criteria belong to the school and should not be presented as universal GL Assessment thresholds.
Can CAT4 Identify Gifted Students?
CAT4 may contribute to a school’s understanding of high reasoning ability or an uneven cognitive profile.
Gifted or advanced-programme decisions may also consider:
- achievement tests;
- classroom work;
- teacher recommendations;
- portfolios;
- interviews;
- other cognitive assessments;
- local programme criteria.
No single CAT4 score guarantees a gifted decision.
Can CAT4 Diagnose a Learning Disability?
No.
A CAT4 profile may identify a pattern that deserves further investigation, but it cannot independently diagnose dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, a language disorder, or another condition.
A formal evaluation may require additional assessment and professional interpretation.
CAT4 Levels by Age
The school selects the CAT4 level.
Levels overlap by age, and the precise choice depends on the student’s age, school year, testing date, and local use.
Common levels include:
- Level X;
- Level Y;
- Pre-A;
- Levels A through G.
Parents should follow the level stated by the school rather than choosing solely from an online age table.
Do not self-assign a CAT4 level:
Using the wrong level can make preparation irrelevant and may create confusion about the report. Confirm the exact level with the school or admissions office.
How to Read a CAT4 Report
A useful order is:
- Confirm the CAT4 level and test date.
- Review each battery SAS.
- Review the confidence bands.
- Find the NPR and stanine for each battery.
- Compare the four-battery pattern.
- Review the mean SAS cautiously.
- Compare the profile with classroom performance.
- Ask how the school will use the information.
Questions to Ask the School
When the school permits practice, families can review TestPrep-Online CAT4 preparation packs or compare options with CAT4 practice test overview. Confirm the grade or level, current pack contents, access terms, and school policy before purchasing.
- Which CAT4 level was administered?
- Were all batteries completed under standard conditions?
- Did the student attempt all questions?
- What are the four battery SAS results?
- Do the confidence bands overlap?
- Is the profile relatively even or uneven?
- Could language or reading have affected the Verbal Battery?
- How does the profile compare with attainment data?
- Will another assessment be administered?
- How will the result affect teaching, setting, support, or enrichment?
Understand school score reports
Start with School Test Scores and Results and the parent guide. Compare benchmark families on MAP Growth, Renaissance Star and i-Ready if your school uses more than one measure. Families preparing several children can review the Family Membership guide or TestPrep-Online Family Membership.