General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)

History of Aptitude Testing; Details of GATB

1. Aptitude Testing Traditional Intelligence Tests 1941 -   World War I. Army Alpha test and Army Beta test developed Scholars thought of single aptitude measure 1941-1960 - vocational interest measures developed Two reasons for the lag of development of aptitude tests Statistical : Factor analysis Spearman ( 1904) Thurstone (1938; 1941) Social – Absence of a practical application for such refined instruments Pressing need during WW II Group intelligence tests used in WW I not sufficient for flight schools Goslin (1963 ) Thereafter, many tests developed, especially used for army recruitment

2. The General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) In the mid-1930s, the U.S. Employment Services (USES) initiated a program of aptitude test research Identified12 tests measuring nine aptitudes, clubbed as GATB GATB Forms A & B published in 1947 GATB Forms C & D published in 1983 Late 1980s - Review of GATB by U.S . NRC Resulted in changed The results of revision - GATB Forms E and F Referred to as Ability Profiler Forms 1 and 2 Uses - O*NET, U.S.A; CWPI, Canada

3. Sample Questions 1) Add (+) 397 265 a ) 652 b) 662 c) 762 d) 562 2) Which two words have the same meaning? a ) fast b) bright c) speedy d) long 3)At the left is a drawing of a flat piece of metal. Which object to the right can be made from this piece of metal? (The metal is to be bent at the dotted lines in order to make the object).

4. Development Area of Development GATB (Forms A-D) Ability Profiler Forms 1 & 2 (GATB Forms E & F) Year GATB Forms A & B – 1947 GATB Forms C & D - 1983 1983 No. of Tests and Aptitudes 12 tests measuring 9 aptitudes 11 tests measuring 9 aptitudes Applicability 16 years and above, Grade 9 to 12 and adults Atleast 16 yrs old Can Read English at a 6 th grade level or higher Not have taken any form of the AP or GATB within the prior 6 months Test Length and Speediness 434 items 42 minutes 224 items 51 minutes

5. Scoring Number-correct scoring Final score is the number of items answered correctly No penalties for incorrect answers Penalty for incorrect responses Formula to correct for guessing used Instructions Both the general and the test-specific instructions provide limited information regarding test-taking strategies Do not discuss scoring procedures Examinees told how tests will be scored and given specific instructions that allow them to maximize their scores

6. Test Aesthetics Improved the physical appearance and user friendliness of the GATB and supporting administration materials. Reliability and Validity Demonstrate acceptable test – retest reliability (most estimates are greater than .70) convergent validity and at least modest correlations with rating of job performance Less evidence to date Reliability and Construct Validity analyses also support the use of these forms