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,

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
6th grade level or higher
Not have taken any form
of the AP or GATB within
the prior 6 months
Test Length and 434 items 224 items

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