CogAT Form 7 Level 14 is the exact exam your 8th grader will take when applying to the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) — and most prep materials out there weren't built for it. I've seen students with strong grades lose ground in LASA admissions simply because they prepped for a generic version of the CogAT instead of the specific test LASA administers. Every year, Austin families work through materials designed for 3rd graders or national gifted programs with completely different scoring contexts. LASA scores each of the three CogAT batteries separately on a 25-point holistic rubric, re-norms results against that year's applicant pool, and holds two Saturday testing dates in January. This guide gives you a battery-by-battery, month-by-month prep strategy built specifically for how to prepare for the LASA CogAT.
LASA CogAT Admissions: Key Facts at a Glance
- Test: CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) — Form 7, Level 14 for 8th graders
- Batteries: Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal — scored separately
- Duration: Approximately 90 minutes of testing time
- Format: Multiple choice, administered in person at LASA
- Test Dates: Two Saturdays in January — verify current-year dates at lasa.austinschools.org/admissions
- Application Deadline: Approximately January 30 via Enroll Austin portal
- Application Opens: Approximately November — verify each year, as the 2026-27 window opened later than usual
- Admissions Rubric: 25-point holistic scale — grades, CogAT percentiles, and short-answer responses
- 80/20 Selection: 80% of seats filled by rubric rank order; 20% by equity considerations
- Decisions: Released in spring via Enroll Austin portal
- Prior Scores: CogAT taken within the last 12 months may be submitted in lieu of retesting — official report required
What Is CogAT Form 7 Level 14 and How Is It Different from STAAR?
The CogAT is not a content test. STAAR measures what your child learned in the Texas curriculum. The SAT tests math and reading skills built over years of schooling. CogAT Form 7 Level 14 measures how your child reasons — through words, numbers, and spatial patterns — without relying on memorized facts.
The three batteries each test a distinct mode of thinking. The Verbal Battery uses word analogies, sentence completion, and verbal classification. The Quantitative Battery presents number series, equation building, and number analogies. The Nonverbal Battery uses figure matrices, paper folding, and figure classification — no reading required at all.
Level 14 is normed for students aged 13 to 14, which maps to most 8th grade LASA applicants. Form 7 is the current edition of the test. LASA administers it in person on designated Saturdays in January. No separate sign-up is required beyond completing your Enroll Austin application — but confirm this on LASA's admissions calendar, since logistics can shift between cycles. Arrive 15 minutes early. Pencils are provided.
Because the CogAT does not test curriculum content, preparing for it looks different than preparing for STAAR. Your child practices reasoning strategies and question-type familiarity — not facts or formulas.
Does CogAT Prep Actually Work? What LASA Applicants Need to Know
This is the most common question I hear from parents at LASA information nights. The short answer is yes — and the reason matters for how you approach prep.
The CogAT measures developed cognitive abilities, not a fixed, inherited IQ. That distinction is significant. Familiarity with question formats alone produces real score gains. A student who has never seen a figure matrix will spend 30 to 45 seconds decoding the format before even beginning to reason through it. A student who has practiced 50 figure matrices arrives knowing exactly what to look for. That difference in cognitive load shows up directly in accuracy and pacing across a 90-minute test.
The Quantitative and Nonverbal batteries respond especially well to structured practice. Number series questions reward pattern recognition. Figure classification questions reward the ability to spot shared abstract properties. Both skills improve with deliberate, repeated exposure over 8 to 12 weeks.
In my experience, students who start focused reasoning practice in September and stick with it consistently tend to score meaningfully higher than peers who rely on raw ability going in — and nowhere is that truer than on the Nonverbal Battery.
Prep Tip: Start with the Nonverbal Battery
The Nonverbal Battery is where prepared students gain the most ground. It has no verbal or math vocabulary barrier — just pure pattern reasoning. Start your first four weeks of prep here. Work through figure matrices, figure classification, and paper folding problems daily. Build to 20 practice questions per session before shifting focus to Quantitative in weeks 5 through 8.
What CogAT Score Is Competitive for LASA Admissions?
LASA does not publish a fixed cutoff percentile. This is one of the most important things to understand about LASA admissions CogAT prep: your child's score is re-normed against that year's applicant pool, not against national norms.
A Standard Age Score (SAS) of 115 might place a student at the 84th national percentile. But if 60% of LASA applicants score above 115 that year, that same score ranks in the bottom half of the applicant pool — a very different outcome on the rubric.
Based on community-reported outcomes from Austin-area families across multiple admissions cycles, applicants who receive offers tend to score at or above the 85th percentile within the applicant pool on each of the three batteries. Aiming for an SAS of 125 or higher on each battery is a reasonable preparation benchmark. This is not an official LASA figure — treat it as a target, not a guarantee.
Each battery is scored separately on the rubric. A student who scores in the 95th percentile on Quantitative but the 60th percentile on Nonverbal does not average those results — both scores appear independently. Weak performance on any single battery costs rubric points. Balanced preparation across all three batteries is smarter than maxing out one.
How LASA's 25-Point Rubric Weighs CogAT Scores vs. Grades
LASA's published rubric assigns a maximum of 25 total points across all components. Core subject grades from English, Math, Science, and Social Studies contribute points from both the previous and current school year. CogAT percentile scores contribute independently for each of the three batteries. Short-answer application responses add additional points.
LASA does not publish the exact point breakdown per component. What the structure makes clear — based on community observation, not an official LASA statement — is that CogAT scores are not a tiebreaker. They are a primary scored component, weighted alongside grades from multiple semesters. A student with strong grades but weak CogAT scores can fall well below offer rank. A student with exceptional CogAT scores and solid — not perfect — grades can rank competitively.
The 80/20 selection model is also worth understanding. The top 80% of seats go to students ranked purely by rubric score in anonymous review. The remaining 20% begin from the next-highest-ranked students and apply equity considerations. No identifying information — name, school, or demographics — is visible to reviewers during scoring. GPA inflation from any particular school does not help or hurt your child directly. Reviewers see letter grades and CogAT percentiles on a level playing field.
How to Prepare for the LASA CogAT: Month-by-Month for 8th Graders
The two January testing Saturdays are your fixed target. Working backward, here is a realistic four-month CogAT 8th grade practice test prep calendar for Austin families.
September: Baseline Assessment and Nonverbal Focus
Take a full-length CogAT Form 7 Level 14 practice test under timed conditions. Score each battery separately. Identify your child's weakest battery. Spend September on daily Nonverbal practice — figure matrices and figure classification — 20 questions per session, 4 to 5 days per week.
October: Quantitative Battery and STEM Critical Thinking Drills
Shift primary focus to the Quantitative Battery. Number series, equation building, and number analogies all reward the same pattern-recognition and logical deduction skills targeted by STEM critical thinking practice tests. Continue 10 minutes of Nonverbal review daily to hold the gains from September.
November: Verbal Battery and Short-Answer Drafts
Begin structured Verbal Battery practice — word analogies and verbal classification. At the same time, draft your short-answer application responses. LASA's Enroll Austin portal typically opens around November, and the application deadline is approximately January 30. Don't wait until January to write your responses — the best analytical writing takes two or three revision rounds.
December: Full-Length Practice and Pacing Work
Take two full-length timed practice tests — one in early December, one in late December. Use results to find remaining weak spots. Focus December review sessions entirely on error patterns, not broad re-study.
January: Light Review and Test-Day Logistics
Stop introducing new content two weeks before the test. Keep sessions short — 10 to 15 questions, light review only. Confirm your child's test date and verify current-year dates on LASA's admissions calendar. Arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled start. Pencils are provided. Check LASA's current snack policy before test day, as this detail can change between cycles.
7th Graders: Start One Year Early for a Real Edge
Students in the Anderson and McCallum cluster schools — among the AISD middle schools that send the most students to LASA — often begin informal CogAT prep during 7th grade. If your child is currently in 7th grade and LASA is the goal, starting nonverbal and quantitative reasoning practice in the spring of 7th grade gives a 6-month advantage over peers who begin in September of 8th grade. Private and charter school students benefit especially from this extended runway, since they have fewer LASA-pipeline peers to benchmark against.
LASA Short-Answer Questions: What Reviewers Actually Look For
The short-answer component is scored holistically as part of the 25-point rubric. Reviewers look for analytical clarity and evidence of genuine intellectual engagement — not polished prose for its own sake. Responses are reviewed anonymously. Your child's school name and demographics are not visible to scorers.
Strong short-answer responses make a specific claim and support it with concrete reasoning in approximately 150 to 200 words. Every sentence should advance an argument. Practicing structured analytical writing directly prepares your child for this component. This is the one part of LASA admissions where Essay Writing practice produces clear, measurable improvement — and most families underinvest in it compared to CogAT prep.
Draft responses early. The best ones go through two or three revision rounds. Waiting until January — when you're also managing test logistics — leaves too little time to write at your best.
Out-of-AISD and Private School Applicants: What's Different for You
Roughly 10% of new LASA entrants come from outside AISD each cycle. The rubric treats grades and CogAT scores identically regardless of your child's current school. The practical differences are logistical.
Private and charter school students often cannot submit a prior district-administered CogAT score. Plan to test on one of LASA's January Saturdays. No pre-registration is required beyond completing your Enroll Austin application — but confirm this on LASA's admissions calendar, since policies can shift.
Students with IEPs or 504/IAP plans should contact LASA's admissions office directly before the November application window opens. CogAT accommodation requests take time to process. Waiting until January is too late.
In my experience, families who navigate LASA admissions most confidently are the ones who treat logistics — Enroll Austin deadlines, accommodation requests, prior score submission — as seriously as test prep itself. A procedural miss can disqualify an otherwise competitive application.
Frequently Asked Questions: LASA CogAT Admissions and Liberal Arts and Science Academy Test Prep
Q: What form and level of the CogAT does LASA use?
A: LASA administers CogAT Form 7, Level 14 for 8th grade applicants. The test covers verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal batteries in approximately 90 minutes. Each battery is scored separately and contributes independently to LASA's 25-point admissions rubric. Students who completed the CogAT within the previous 12 months may submit those scores instead of retesting on one of LASA's January Saturdays — but the score report must be submitted officially through Enroll Austin. An informal parent copy is not accepted.
Q: What CogAT score do I need to get into LASA?
A: LASA does not publish a fixed cutoff score. CogAT results are re-normed against that year's applicant pool, so your child's percentile is calculated relative to all other applicants — not the national norm group. Community-reported outcomes suggest applicants who receive offers tend to score at or above the 85th percentile within the applicant pool on each battery, though this shifts year to year. Aiming for a Standard Age Score (SAS) of 125 or higher on each battery is a reasonable preparation benchmark. This is not an official LASA figure.
Q: Does CogAT prep actually work for Level 14?
A: Yes. The CogAT measures developed cognitive abilities, not fixed intelligence. Familiarity with question formats — number analogies, figure matrices, verbal classifications — reduces test-day confusion and improves timing. Students who practice pattern recognition and abstract reasoning for 8 to 12 weeks before January testing tend to score higher than peers who rely on raw ability alone. The Nonverbal and Quantitative batteries respond especially well to structured, repeated practice.
Q: When should my child start preparing for the LASA CogAT?
A: Start no later than September or October of your child's 8th grade year — 3 to 4 months before the January test dates. Students aiming for top applicant-pool percentiles benefit from beginning even earlier. Seventh graders who know they are targeting LASA can build a real edge by practicing nonverbal and quantitative reasoning in the spring before 8th grade. The Nonverbal Battery rewards extended pattern-recognition practice far more than cramming in the final two weeks.
Q: My child already took the CogAT at school — can we use those scores instead of retesting?
A: Yes, LASA accepts prior CogAT scores if the test was taken within the last 12 months. Submit the official score report through the Enroll Austin portal before the January 30 application deadline. Contact your child's current school counselor to request the official documentation — informal parent copies are not accepted. If your child's prior scores fall below the competitive benchmark, retesting on one of LASA's January Saturdays is the better path. You cannot average multiple CogAT attempts.
Q: What do the LASA short-answer application questions look for?
A: LASA's short-answer prompts are scored as part of the 25-point holistic rubric. Reviewers assess analytical clarity, evidence of genuine intellectual curiosity, and the student's ability to build a focused argument in writing. Responses are reviewed anonymously — no name, school, or demographic information is visible to scorers. Strong responses go beyond surface description and show specific reasoning. Practicing structured analytical writing — state a claim, support it with concrete reasoning in 150 to 200 words — directly prepares your child for this component.
Q: Are private school or out-of-AISD applicants at a disadvantage for LASA admissions?
A: Not structurally. LASA's rubric scores grades and CogAT results on the same scale regardless of which school your child attends. However, private and charter school students typically must test on one of LASA's January Saturdays rather than submitting prior district-administered scores. These students also have fewer peers who have gone through the LASA process, making independent prep resources more important. Approximately 10% of new LASA entrants come from outside AISD each admissions cycle.
Q: What happens if we miss the Enroll Austin priority registration deadline?
A: Completing Enroll Austin priority registration is listed as a scored factor in LASA's admissions rubric — so missing it costs actual rubric points, not just convenience. For the 2026-27 cycle, Enroll Austin opened later than usual after winter break due to district consolidation planning, compressing the registration window. Set a calendar reminder for the first week of November each year and verify current-year dates directly on the LASA Admissions Calendar at lasa.austinschools.org/admissions.
Start Your LASA CogAT Prep with the Right Practice Tests
Your 8th grader has one shot at LASA's January CogAT — and the Quantitative and Nonverbal batteries are the two components most responsive to deliberate practice. The students I've seen walk into that January testing room with real confidence weren't the ones who crammed the week before. They were the ones who spent September through December training their minds to think the way CogAT Form 7 Level 14 demands.
Our STEM Critical Thinking Practice Tests at stemcriticalthinking.com are built around the abstract reasoning, pattern recognition, and logical deduction skills tested by CogAT Level 14. Every practice set targets the question types that matter most for LASA admissions.
Don't prep for a generic CogAT. Prep for the specific test LASA administers, scored against the specific rubric LASA uses.
- Explore STEM Critical Thinking Practice Tests — pattern recognition, quantitative reasoning, and nonverbal logic drills aligned to CogAT Level 14
- View Pricing and Plans — start as early as 7th grade for the strongest LASA admissions advantage
Questions about where to start? Reach out through our contact page — we're glad to help you build a prep plan that fits your child's timeline and target batteries.
