Aptitude : Nature and Measurement

Aptitude and Intelligence

• People with similar intelligence differed widely in acquiring certain knowledge or skills.
• Therefore, individuals with similar level of intelligence may have different aptitudes. For example, two students who have more or less the same level of intelligence, one may have a high verbal reasoning aptitude whereas the other student may have high numerical reasoning aptitude and low verbal reasoning aptitude.

Aptitude and Interest

• A person may be interested in a particular job or activity, but may not have the aptitude for it. Similarly, a person may have the potentiality for performing a job, but may not be interested in doing that. In both cases, the outcome will not be satisfactory.
• For example, a student with high mechanical aptitude and strong interest in engineering is more likely to be a successful mechanical engineer.
• Therefore, in order to be successful in a particular field, a person must have both aptitude and interest.

Aptitude tests are available in two forms:

• Independent (specialised) Aptitude Tests

Examples: Clerical Aptitude, Mechanical Aptitude, Numerical Aptitude, and Typing Aptitude

• Multiple (generalised) Aptitude Tests

Multiple Aptitude Tests exist in the form of test batteries, which measure aptitude in several separate but homogeneous areas.

Examples: Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT), the General Aptitude Tests Battery (GATB), and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) are well-known aptitude test batteries.

Among these, DAT is most commonly used in educational settings. It consists of 8 independent subtests: (i) Verbal Reasoning, (ii) Numerical Reasoning, (iii) Abstract Reasoning, (iv) Clerical Speed and Accuracy, (v) Mechanical Reasoning, (vi) Space Relations, (vii) Spelling, and (viii) Language Usage.

J.M. Ojha has developed an Indian adaptation of DAT.

Several other aptitude tests have been developed in India for measuring scientific, scholastic, literary, clerical, and teaching aptitudes.