CAT results. High qantative, low spatial???

[lionlaw]

Hi all, just wondered if anyone knows about CAT scores and what they might mean. My DS, year 7 has just got his results. For his verbal and non-verbal his scores were pretty average, 114 and 105 but there is a big difference between his quantitative 139 and spatial 87. Does anyone know what this might mean? I have seen that a big difference between the verbal assessments can indicate dyslexia but not found any information with regards to these two. He is incredibly quick at arithmetic and picks up mathematics easily but struggles with things like symmetry, rotation, nets, tessellation etc and has always disliked arts and crafts. Also his dad is severely dyslexic. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks

I am no expert at all but could it be indicative of dyspraxia? ds is dyspraxic and useless at nets and geometry in general but great at maths otherwise. I'm also dyspraxic and can't read maps, get lost easily, terrible with flat pack furniture etc. How is he at sport? poor co-ordination etc can be a sign of dyspraxia.

Like I said, I'm no expert but speaking from personal experience, hth's!

Dd has a big disparity between verbal & spatial & it turned out she has an autistic spectrum disorder.

@AlexanderHamilton But that doesn’t mean that OPs DS is on the spectrum - one doesn’t cause the other....

OP CAT is not a diagnostic tool. If you have the means/opportunity I suggest you consult a psychologist who can review the CAT scores with you and conduct follow-up testing to track down whether there is an issue if necessary. A discrepancy of that magnitude is not typical but it happens. Basically the CAT scores simply indicate that your DS is better at math-type manipulations than about 2/3 of the population, and within the range of average for spatial manipulation- but you knew that anyway....

You sound like you’ve got a good understanding, good at calculations, poor spatial awareness. The spatial test is all about rotations and symmetry.