DIFFERENTIAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY
INTRODUCTION
Aptitude
may be described as a special ability or capacity distinct from the general intellectual
ability which helps an individual to acquire the required degree of proficiency or achieve meant in a
specific field .Aptitude is a present pattern of traits but it always refers to future potentialities or
performance .According to Bingham [1937] ‘’Aptitude refers to those qualities characterizing a Pearson’s way of behavior which serve to
indicate how well he can learn to meet and solve a certain specified kinds of
problem’’ An aptitude test , therefore,
is one designed to measure a Pearson’s potential ability in an activity of
specified kind and with in a restricted
range . Aptitude test helps us to measure the probability of success in an
activity such as playing at piano, learning a language, etc. Two types of
aptitude test are there Specialized Aptitude Test and General Aptitude Test.
Aptitude test can be used for admitting candidates for various types of
professional courses, for the purpose of guidance in selecting subjects and
also for selecting persons for job.
DIFFERENTIAL
APTITUDE TEST
The Differential
aptitude test (DAT) were developed and designed by Bennett, Seashore and Wesman
in 1951 which won the Authors Award by the American Personnel and Guidance Association
for distinguished work in test construction and publication. This test battery
yields eight scores. Tests are available in separate booklets. The entire
battery can be administered into sections of approximately 2.25 hours each.
They yield a profile in percentage ranks.
DAT provides a basis for the educational and occasional guidance of
students in grades eight through twelve. Subsequently examiners have found that
the test is useful in the occasional counseling of young adults out of school
in the selection of employees. The test
has been periodically revised and
stands as one of the most popular multiple aptitude test batteries.
Differential Aptitude Test
consists of eight different abilities. They are explained bellow;
1]
Verbal Reasoning: The special type of verbal analogies item utilized in this
test in which the first and fourth terms must be chosen by the subject markedly
reduces the chances of guessing the correct answer. The best was designed to
measure the subject’s ability to handle verbal concepts rather than his word knowledge.
Accordingly item difficulty was varied by increasing the complexity of the
reasoning involved rather than by the use of more abstruse and unusual words.
2]
Numerical Ability: This is a multiple choice arithmetic test covering a variety
of operations from simple addition to the extraction of cube root. Some of the
items are purely computational while others call for ingenuity and the
manipulation of numerical relations. Unlike most arithmetic reasoning tests
however this test makes practically no demands upon verbal comprehension since
the problems are presented almost exclusively
in numerical terms.
3]
Abstract reasoning: This is a series completion test employing abstract
patterns or figures. It may be regarded as a non language supplement to the
verbal and numerical tests described
above.
4]
Space Relations: This test requires the ability to visualize a three
dimensional object from a two dimensional pattern as well as ability to imagine
how an object would look if rotated in various ways.
5]
Mechanical Reasoning: This is a mechanical comprehension test. Each item
includes a picture illustrating a mechanical situation which might be
encountered in everyday life together with a simply worded question about the
picture.
6]
Clerical Speed and Accuracy: In this test the subject is instructed to locate identical
combinations of letters or number as quickly as possible. Such items are
similar to those most commonly employed in special tests of clerical aptitude.
7]
Language usage, spelling: In which the subject indicates the incorrectly
spelled words in a list. The incorrect spelling employed is those shown by
previous investigators to occur most frequently in actual writing.
8]
Language usage; Sentences: This test requires the subject to locate errors of grammar,
punctuation or word usage in each of a series of sentences. Each sentence may
contain from ‘0’ to ‘5’ errors. These two tests than any of the others in the
battery.
In constructing the Differential Aptitude Test
the authors were guided by several explicit criteria;
*Each
test should be an independent test: There are situations in which only part of
the battery is required or desired.
*The
test should measure power: For most vocational purposes to which test results
contribute the evaluation of power –speeded problem solving is of primary
concern.
*The
test battery should yield a profile: The eight separate scores can be converted
to percentile ranks and plotted on a common profile chart.
*The
test materials should be practical: With timed limits of six to thirty minutes
per test the entire DAT can be administered in a morning or afternoon school
session.
*The
test should be easy to administer: Each test contains excellent “warm up”
examples and can be administered by persons with a minimum of special training.
*Alternative
forms should be available: For purposes of retesting, the availability of
alternate forms will reduce any practice effect.
The DAT
tests, especially the verbal reasoning plus numerical ability combination are
good predictors of high school and college grades. For this reason the
combination of ‘VR’ and ‘NA’ is often considered an index of scholastic
aptitude.
Conclusion
The Differential Aptitude
Test has proved very successful in predicting academic success and has been
found especially useful for providing educational and vocational guidance. The
test shows a mixed pattern of inter correlations with each other which is
optimistically interpreted by the as establishing the independence of the eight
tests.
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