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California Achievement Tests (CAT)

Assesses basic academic skills.

The California Achievement Tests (CAT) are among the most widely used tests of basic academic skills. This paper-and-pencil test is available in different forms at 10 overlapping levels covering grades K-12. The CAT is often administered to determine a child's readiness for promotion to a more advanced grade level and may also be used by schools to satisfy state or local testing requirements. Areas covered are reading, spelling, language, reference skills, mathematics, science, social studies, computer literacy, and, on certain tests, study skills. At each level after the kindergarten readiness stage, test results are combined to yield total scores for the first five of these areas (Total Reading, Spelling, Total Language, Reference Skills, and Total Mathematics). The complete battery of California Achievement Tests can take up to 2 hours and 48 minutes depending on the test level. CAT also offers separate tests in specific subjects, such as algebra and chemistry, designed to be given at the end of a course.

For Further Study

Books

McCullough, Virginia. Testing and Your Child: What You Should Know About 150 of the Most Common Medical, Educational, and Psychological Tests. New York: Plume, 1992.

Shore, Milton F., Patrick J. Brice, and Barbara G. Love. When Your Child Needs Testing: What Parents, Teachers, and Other Helpers Need to Know about Psychological Testing. New York: Crossroad, 1992.

Walsh, W. Bruce, and Nancy E. Betz. Tests and Assessment. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.

Wodrich, David L., and Sally A. Kush. Children's Psychological Testing: A Guide for Nonpsychologists. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co., 1990.

Wortham, Sue Clark. Tests and Measurement in Early Childhood Education. Columbus: Merrill Publishing Co., 1990.