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Customer Testimonial:

At your suggestion, I purchased both Thinkanalogy puzzles CD-ROM and Building Thinking Skills for my son in anticipation of the John Hopkins SCAT. WOW, His reading, comprehension and understanding of EVERYTHING has just exploded since completing these products and he earned high honors on the Johns Hopkins SCAT exam for second grade. It was amazing watching him go through the process.
A happy parent.

The School and College Ability Test (also sometimes called the Scholastic and College Ability Test or SCAT) is used by John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) as part of their admissions process. If you have reached this page you almost certainly have a gifted child. You may be wondering exactly how gifted your child is and how you can best prepare them for the experience of taking the SCAT.

John Hopkins uses the SCAT for above level assessment. Since your child is already performing in top few percentiles for their age giving them a grade level assessment will not allow them to demonstrate all that they know. By giving them an above grade level assessment the testing process will be able to more accurately differentiate between levels of giftedness to enable identification of the highly gifted child.

The SCAT is also used in some schools as as yearly assessment. If your child is being tested with their age peers in a school setting they are almost certainly taking the SCAT designed for use with their grade and you do not need above grade preparation material.

There are three versions of the School and College Ability Test currently in use:
  • Elementary SCAT designed for students in Gr 3-6
  • Intermediate SCAT designed for students in Gr 6-9
  • Advanced SCAT designed for students in Gr 9-12.
If your child is testing for the John Hopkins Center for talented youth then they will be tested as follows:
  • Students in Gr 2-3 take the Elementary SCAT
  • Students in Gr 4-5 take the Intermediate SCAT
  • Students in Gr 6-8 take the Advanced SCAT (other testing options are available for students 5 and up)

The SCAT is designed to measure the extent of your child's verbal and quantitative abilities. John Hopkins University provides sample tests for each level of the SCAT and it is recommended that you review their website for these and for other information on testing.

A comment on level is appropriate before you start to follow the links and browse our suggestions below. The grade level designations provided with the titles we sell are from the publishers and are for the typical child. The SCAT test your child will be taking is an above grade level test and to be able to answer the most difficult questions on the test they will need to prepared at that higher level. As you browse the book series linked to below you should start considering titles at least two grade levels ahead of your child's current grade. Most of the titles will display sorted by difficulty level. Scroll down the page if the titles you see at first look too simple. For most of the titles we sell we provide sample pages - to view these click through on "more info" at the end of the brief product description then on the tab "sample pages."
The verbal sample provided by John Hopkins consists entirely of verbal analogies. We carry a number of titles teaching analogies and providing practice matching analogy pairs

Think Analogies

  • Building Thinking Skills is a series of books which teaches core verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Verbal reasoning builds from describing to identifying similarities and differences to sequencing to classifying and finally to analogies. This is a great series to build analytical skills from the bottom up.
  • The series Think Analogies and software Thinkanalogy Puzzles teach children how analogies work, how to analyze analogous relationships and how to construct their own analogy pairs. The book and software formats are unique products so you can purchase the format your child would prefer or for variety and comprehensive coverage get both. Additional titles containing verbal analogies can be found in our Analogies Section.
  • To be able to match analogy pairs your child will need to have a strong vocabulary. Word Roots and Vocabulary Cartoons are additional possiblities for working on language and word meanings . For younger children, particularly if your child is bilingual, Vocabulary Smarts would be a good choice. All of our Vocabulary titles can be found in our Vocabulary section under Language Arts
The quantiative sample provided by John Hopkins shows a consistent format of question - in each case the child is asked to compare two quantites and identify the larger. The math knowledge tested ranges from facts (numerical value of pi, measurements, calendar variables) to arithmetic calculations. The common thread is an understanding of core math concepts and facts. Children who really understand math at the tested level should be able to complete these questions without difficulty.
Primary Grade Challenge Math 180 Days of Math for Fourth GradeScratch Your Brain Algebra
Possibilities to build your child's skills in this area include:
The SCAT is an above grade level multiple choice test. The chances are that there will be more than a few questions where you child will have to guess the answer. Incorrect answers are not penalized but you don't want your child to simply guess if they can increase their probability of selecting the correct answer by eliminating the obviously incorrect. The skill used to do this is called deductive logic. Strong logic skills benefit many areas of life.

Mind Benders deductive logic puzzles teach logical thinking. This series ranges in difficulty from titles suitable for preschoolers through to adults. Your highly capable child in Gr 2 or higher should begin with Mind Benders Book 3. From about Grade 5 you can use Mind Benders Book 5. Print out some of the sample puzzles and see what you think. Many gifted children (and not a few adults) love doing these types of puzzles.
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Building Thinking Skills Level 1 Building Thinking Skills Level 1

Grade(s): 2-3
Pages: 370

Building Thinking Skills®
teaches non-verbal and verbal reasoning. These skills are rarely explictly taught in the classroom but are essential for academic excellence and success on any assessment test. In print for over 30 years this is a world-wide top seller. Also available in software - a game like presentation of the same exercises.

Our Price: $29.99
Thinking Skills & Key Concepts Thinking Skills & Key Concepts (Second Grade)

Grade: 2
Pages: 160, color

This book uses powerful lessons to develop thinking skills important to academic success while teaching the key kindergarten common core concepts. Enhance cognitive development through discussion and observation. Students develop analytical skills as well as deductive and inferential reasoning skills as they work through the exercises.

Our Price: $21.99
Thinking Skills & Key Concepts Thinking Skills & Key Concepts: Teacher's Manual (Second Grade)

Grade: 2
Pages: 192
Format: paperback, reproducible

Parent/Teacher Resource Manual to accompany student book. Does not contain questions. The Parent/Teacher resource contains teaching notes. It is highly recommended for new parents learn how to work with their child to develop higher order thinking skills.

Our Price: $22.99
Mind Benders Book 3 Mind Benders Book 3

Grade(s): 3-6
Activities: 60
Pages: 48, perforated

Our best-selling deductive thinking puzzles develop logic, reading comprehension, and mental organizational skills that are vital to achieving high grades and top test scores in all subjects. They’re also great for developing real-life, problem-solving skills.

Our Price: $10.99
Think Analogies A1 Think Analogies A1

Grade(s): 3-5
Activities: 48
Pages: 56

Think Analogies® clearly, easily, and effectively teaches students how to analyze and classify analogies by relationship, category, and structure. Also available in a software format as Think Analogy Puzzles A1

Our Price: $12.99
Logic Countdown Logic Countdown

Grade(s): 3-4
Pages: 32

Challenging and instructional, these thought-provoking books present sequential exercises in logical reasoning that include relationships, analogies, syllogisms, sequences, deductive reasoning, inference, truth-values, and logical notation.

Our Price: $14.95
Upper Elementary Challenge Math Upper Elementary Challenge Math

Grade(s): 3-5
Pages: 380

Designed for students who need more challenging material than they typically encounter in most math curricula. Each chapter contains instruction and problems at 4 levels of difficulty. In addition, each chapter includes multiple “problem sets” in which a single problem type is presented in increasingly complex steps, illustrating how a simpler problem can progress from one step to multistep problem solving.

Our Price: $24.95
Challenge Math Challenge Math

Grade(s): 4-9
Pages: 429

Challenge Math provides enrichment math activities and develops student problem solving skills. Over 1000 problems at three levels of difficulty to challenge even the brightest students.

Our Price: $24.95
Becoming a Problem Solving Genius
 
  
 
Becoming a Problem Solving Genius Becoming a Problem Solving Genius

Grade(s): 4-12
Pages: 320

Every math student needs a tool belt of problem solving strategies to call upon when solving word problems. In addition to many traditional strategies, this book includes new techniques such as Think 1, the 2-10 method, and others developed. Each chapter contains problems at five levels of difficulty to meet the needs of not only the average math student, but also the highly gifted.

Our Price: $24.95
Analogies for the 21st Century Analogies for the 21st Century

Grade(s): 4-6
Pages: 32

Thinking strategies to help recognize the unique relationships between paired items and how these relationships can be replicated. Each lesson introduces new types of analogies, gives examples, and offers hints on solving the analogies. Vocabulary reflects today's culture, and helpful hints help students to build skills that will allow them to perform better on tests.

Our Price: $14.95
Thinking Through Analogies Thinking Through Analogies

Grade(s): 4-6
Pages: 32

Thinking strategies to help recognize the unique relationships between paired items and how these relationships can be replicated. Each lesson introduces new types of analogies, gives examples, and offers hints on solving the analogies. Vocabulary reflects today's culture, and helpful hints help students to build skills that will allow them to perform better on tests.

Our Price: $14.95
Advancing Through Analogies Advancing Through Analogies

Grade(s): 5-8
Pages: 32
Challenging verbal analogies of 16 different types are perfect for teaching analytical thinking, enhancing vocabulary, and improving writing skills.

Our Price: $14.95
Orbiting With Logic Orbiting With Logic

Grade(s): 5-8
Pages: 32

Challenging and instructional, these thought-provoking books present sequential exercises in logical reasoning that include relationships, analogies, syllogisms, sequences, deductive reasoning, inference, truth-values, and logical notation.

Our Price: $14.95
Think Analogies B1 Think Analogies B1

Grade(s): 6-12+
Activities: 49
Pages: 56

Think Analogies® clearly, easily, and effectively teaches students how to analyze and classify analogies by relationship, category, and structure.

Our Price: $12.99
Building Thinking Skills Level 3 Verbal Building Thinking Skills Level 3 Verbal

Grade(s): 7-12+
Activities: 350
Pages: 384

Building Thinking Skills® provides highly effective verbal reasoning activities to improve vocabulary, reading, writing, math, logic, and figural-spatial skills, as well as visual and auditory processing. This exceptional skill set provides a solid foundation for academic excellence and success on any assessment test.

Our Price: $29.99
Mind Benders: Book 5 Mind Benders Book 5

Grade(s): 7-12+
Activities: 26
Pages: 40

Mind Benders®, our best-selling deductive thinking puzzles, develop logic, reading comprehension, and mental organizational skills that are vital to achieving high grades and top test scores in all subjects. They're also great for developing real-life, problem-solving skills.

Our Price: $10.99
Mind Benders Book 7 Mind Benders Book 7

Grade(s): 7-12+
Activities: 26
Pages: 40

Mind Benders®, our best-selling deductive thinking puzzles, develop logic, reading comprehension, and mental organizational skills that are vital to achieving high grades and top test scores in all subjects. They're also great for developing real-life, problem-solving skills.

Our Price: $12.99
   
 
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