Psychometric Testing

437 Words1 Page

Psychometric Testing

There are 3 main types of psychometric testing. These are Ability

testing, Aptitude testing.

Ability testing

===============

Ability tests measure a persons potential, for instance to learn the

skills needed for a new job or to cope with the demands of a training

course.

Tests of attainment assess specifically what people have learnt e.g.

mathematical ability or typing skills. Of course what people have

learned does depend on their ability in that domain in the first place

so the scores on the two types of test are conceptually linked.

The major difference between tests of ability and tests of attainment

is in the way the scores from both types of test are used. Many

ability test items look identical to those on attainment tests but

attainment tests are different in one crucial respect - they are

traditional. They focus on what has been learnt and on what a person

knows and can do now. Ability tests are potential. They focus on what

the person is capable of achieving in the future or their potential to

learn. Bear in mind that some attainment is required before certain

abilities can be measured, for instance, we need a certain knowledge

of mathematics before our numerical ability can be measured. In

addition a test of attainment cannot be used to directly infer

ability. School examinations are one example of measures of

achievement or attainment, and while we might make conclusions about

an individual's ability on the basis of GCSE results we would not use

them as a direct measure of ability since a less able student may work

harder than a more able student to produce a better score.

Aptitude testing

================

There is no widely accepted definition of the difference between

ability and aptitude. Most people would agree that to some extent the

two terms refer to the same thing: aptitude referring to specific

ability, and ability referring to general aptitude. We could probably

view ability as underlying aptitude, and aptitude as being more job

Open Document