Updated 29 October 2026

CAT4 scores explained

What the numbers on your child's CAT4 report mean, in plain English, with every score from 69 to 141.

100 is exactly average for a child of that age. About two in three children score between 85 and 115.

120 is roughly the top 10%. 127 or more is stanine 9, the 'very high' band (about 4% of children). 141 is the highest score CAT4 reports.

What CAT4 measures

CAT4 (the Cognitive Abilities Test, fourth edition) is made by GL Assessment. It looks at how a child reasons, not at what they have been taught, and has four sections:

Verbal Reasoning. Thinking with words: spotting how words are linked, sorting them into groups and finishing word patterns.
Non-verbal Reasoning. Thinking with shapes and patterns: finding the rule in a sequence of pictures and working out what comes next.
Quantitative Reasoning. Thinking with numbers: finding the rule in number patterns and number relationships. It is not a test of school maths methods.
Spatial Ability. Picturing shapes in your head: turning, folding and fitting shapes together without seeing the answer drawn.

Each section gets its own score, and the mean SAS is the average of the four. Which version of the test your child sits depends on their age: see CAT4 levels by year group.

The three numbers on the report

Standard Age Score (SAS)

The main score. It takes your child's marks, adjusts them for their exact age in years and months, and places them on a scale where 100 is average. A child born in August is compared with other August-born children, not with classmates who are almost a year older.

National Percentile Rank (NPR)

How many children in every 100 of the same age scored the same or lower. An NPR of 84 means your child did as well as or better than 84 in every 100. 50 is average.

Stanine

A simpler 1 to 9 scale. GL Assessment groups the scores like this:

Stanine	Description	SAS	Percentile	Children in this band
9	Very high	127 and above	97 and above	4%
8	Above average	119 to 126	90 to 96	7%
7	Above average	112 to 118	78 to 89	12%
6	Average	104 to 111	59 to 77	17%
5	Average	97 to 103	41 to 58	20%
4	Average	89 to 96	23 to 40	17%
3	Below average	82 to 88	12 to 22	12%
2	Below average	74 to 81	5 to 11	7%
1	Very low	73 and below	4 and below	4%

Every CAT4 score, from 141 down to 69

Find your child's score (the mean SAS or any one section). The percentile column says roughly how many children in every 100 of the same age scored the same or lower.

Score (SAS)	Stanine	Percentile (about)	Description
141	9	99	Top of the scale
140	9	99	Very high
139	9	99	Very high
138	9	99	Very high
137	9	99	Very high
136	9	99	Very high
135	9	99	Very high
134	9	99	Very high
133	9	99	Very high
132	9	98	Very high
131	9	98	Very high
130	9	98	Very high
129	9	97	Very high
128	9	97	Very high
127	9	96	Very high
126	8	96	Above average
125	8	95	Above average
124	8	95	Above average
123	8	94	Above average
122	8	93	Above average
121	8	92	Above average
120	8	91	Above average
119	8	90	Above average
118	7	88	Above average
117	7	87	Above average
116	7	86	Above average
115	7	84	Above average
114	7	82	Above average
113	7	81	Above average
112	7	79	Above average
111	6	77	Average
110	6	75	Average
109	6	73	Average
108	6	70	Average
107	6	68	Average
106	6	66	Average
105	6	63	Average
104	6	61	Average
103	5	58	Average
102	5	55	Average
101	5	53	Average
100	5	50	Exactly average
99	5	47	Average
98	5	45	Average
97	5	42	Average
96	4	39	Average
95	4	37	Average
94	4	34	Average
93	4	32	Average
92	4	30	Average
91	4	27	Average
90	4	25	Average
89	4	23	Average
88	3	21	Below average
87	3	19	Below average
86	3	18	Below average
85	3	16	Below average
84	3	14	Below average
83	3	13	Below average
82	3	12	Below average
81	2	10	Below average
80	2	9	Below average
79	2	8	Below average
78	2	7	Below average
77	2	6	Below average
76	2	5	Below average
75	2	5	Below average
74	2	4	Below average
73	1	4	Very low
72	1	3	Very low
71	1	3	Very low
70	1	2	Very low
69	1	2	Very low

Stanines are GL Assessment's bands. Percentiles are worked out from the SAS scale (average 100, standard deviation 15). The NPR on your child's actual report comes from GL's own tables and can differ by a point or two.

The verbal and spatial profile

Your report also places your child in one of seven profiles, from comparing the Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Ability scores: extreme, moderate or mild verbal bias; no bias; or mild, moderate or extreme spatial bias.

This is not a ranking. It describes how your child prefers to learn. A verbal bias suggests they learn best through words: reading, talking and explaining. A spatial bias suggests they learn best through pictures, diagrams and seeing how things fit together. 'No bias' means the two scores are similar. GL notes that a gap of under 3 points between two scores is not usually meaningful.

CAT4 at schools in the UAE

In Dubai, the schools regulator KHDA requires a cognitive abilities test covering verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning, and many British-curriculum schools use CAT4 for it. It is taken in Years 4, 6, 8 and 10 (Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9), and by new pupils who join without earlier results.

Some schools also ask for CAT4 results when you apply. Jumeirah English Speaking School, for example, lists a CAT4 mean score of 115 or more as one of the academic criteria for its limited open-entry places. Each school sets its own rules, so check the school's current admissions page.

Questions parents ask

What is a good CAT4 score?

100 is exactly average for a child of that age, and about two in three children score between 85 and 115. Anything from 112 is above average (stanine 7 or higher), 120 puts a child in roughly the top 10%, and 127 or more is stanine 9, the 'very high' band that about 4% of children reach. A 'good' score is best judged against your child's own school work, not against other children.

What is the highest CAT4 score?

141. CAT4 reports Standard Age Scores from 69 to 141, so 141 is the top of the scale. It means the child scored higher than almost every child of the same age in the national sample. It does not mean every question was right.

Is 110 a good CAT4 score?

Yes. 110 is in the upper part of the average range: a child scoring 110 did as well as or better than about 75 in every 100 children of the same age. It sits in stanine 6; from 112, scores count as above average.

Is 120 a good CAT4 score?

Yes, 120 is well above average. Roughly 91 in every 100 children of the same age score 120 or lower, so 120 is about the top 10%. It is stanine 8 ('above average').

What does a CAT4 score of 130 mean?

130 is very high: about the top 2% of children of the same age. It is stanine 9, the highest band.

What is the mean SAS on a CAT4 report?

Each of the four test sections (verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial) gets its own Standard Age Score. The mean SAS is the average of the four. It is the single number most schools quote, but the four separate scores tell you more about how your child thinks.

Is CAT4 an IQ test?

No. CAT4 measures how a child reasons with words, numbers, shapes and space. GL Assessment says it is not based on any curriculum, so it shows how a child is likely to learn rather than what they have already been taught. GL also points out that stanines avoid the impression of an IQ score, which a number like 120 can give.

My child goes to school outside the UK. Who are they compared with?

With UK children of the same age. GL Assessment says schools outside the UK use Standard Age Scores based on its UK standardisation, so a score of 100 means average for a child of that age in the UK national sample.

Why is my child's verbal score lower than the others?

There can be several reasons. One that matters for families abroad is language: GL Assessment notes that three of the four sections do not rely on knowing English. If English is not your child's first language, the verbal score can sit below the other three while their reasoning is just as strong. Talk to the school before reading too much into it.

Can my child prepare for CAT4?

CAT4 is designed to measure reasoning rather than taught knowledge, so there is no content to learn. Seeing a few example questions beforehand, so the question types are not a surprise, is sensible. The school's own parent letter often includes examples. Pacing matters too: GL notes that the number of questions a child attempts affects the score.

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