Top 5 Specific Areas of Aptitude Test

This article throws light upon the five specific areas of aptitude test. The specific areas are: (1) Mechanical Aptitude Test, (2) Clerical Aptitude Test, (3) Art Aptitude Test, (4) Tests of Scientific Aptitude, and (5)Teaching Aptitude Test.

(1) Mechanical Aptitude Test:

This test is designed to measure fundamental aptitudes of tool usage, press visualization and sub arithmetic in the area of mechanical ability. Mechanical aptitude is a combination of various factors. It is very difficult to give any clear-cut list of the various traits comprising mechanical ability. However it involves three traits,

(a) Spatial perception and imagination.

(b) Manual dexterity involving precision of muscular coordination.


(c) Motor abilities of strength, speed of movement and endurance.

All these three components are required in mechanical occupations but not in equal amounts and because an engineer requires more of the first and less of the second and still less of the third. Similarly auto mechanics, repairs electrical appliances and workers require more of the second. The unskilled labourers require the third component very much. The guidance worker measures the degrees of various components possessed by each individual and accordingly suggested the particular occupation that suits an individual. Mechanical aptitude can be measured through performance test and paper pencil test.

Some of the important mechanical ability tests are given below:

(i) Stenquist Tests for Mechanical Aptitude.


(ii) O ‘Roacke’ Mechanical Aptitude Test,

(iii) Minnesota Mechanical Assembly Test,

(iv) Johnson’s O’connor’s Wiggly Block Test,

(v) T.W. Mac Quarrie’s Mechanical Ability Test,


(vi) Minnesota paper form Board Test,

(vii) Mechanical Comprehension Test.

How to Measure Mechanical Aptitude:

The guidance worker will employ the following ways for measuring mechanical aptitude:


(a) Performance in Subject:

Generally speaking a child’s high level of performance in mathematics, physics and drawing indicates that he has mechanical ability in him. Pupils good at this subject go in for engineering.

(b) Hobby Interest:

A child with mechanical ability will be interested in hobbies involving mechanical aptitude and would busy himself in building model, machines, radio etc. He will not be so much interested in hobbies like stamp collecting. Besides he should try several ways of building new models. If he tries several ways of building new models with or without the help of some pictures, etc. he possesses the mechanical ability in abundance.

(C) Performance at Mechanical Aptitude Test:

The third way of measuring the aptitude is to see the performance of the child on a mechanical aptitude test. America is considered to be the home of such tests. Attempts are being made to construct such tests in our country also.

In mechanical aptitude test the following four types of Mechanical aptitude tests are employed.

(i) Mechanical Assembly Test:

In this test an individual is presented with a number of common gadgets. These are in pieces and an individual is asked to assemble these pieces together to make some meaningful things. Score is based on speed with which parts are put together and the degree of correctness of the product.

(ii) Knowledge about Tools:

Some tests measure the knowledge of the individuals about tools, their names and their use.

(iii) Situational Test:

Students may be presented with the picture of a car about to take a turn and asked to say to which side it is more likely to skid.

Tests Involving Spatial and Visualizing Ability:

Various figures, for example, a geometrical figure divided into several parts are given to the individuals. They are then asked to put them together and form the correct figure.

Results of Mechanical Aptitude Test:

It should be supplemented by student’s academic achievement, their interest and hobbies etc. before helping an individual to decide his future plans and actions.

(2) Clerical Aptitude Test:

General intelligence, speed, appropriateness of vocabulary, accuracy in checking and measure business arithmetic is required in clerical services. Abilities in regard to official language usage, spelling, vocabulary, hand writing etc. are tested in clerical aptitude tests. Clerical aptitude like the mechanical aptitude is a combination of several traits. Super thinks that, “In routine clerical work one would expect speed and accuracy in checking numerical and verbal symbols to be a characteristic of the successful worker.

There is some justification for referring to this ability as clerical aptitude.” According to Bigham “Clerical work is based on perceptual ability, intellectual ability, command over the basic educational skills and motor ability. Bill is of the opinion that clerical duties, “include the gathering, classification and presentation of data of all sorts and the analysis and use of these data in planning, executing and determining the results of operation.”

Bingham says that clerical aptitude is evidenced by three different kinds of abilities.

These are:

a. Perceptual:

“The ability to observe words and numbers to see instantly and correctly what is on the paper.”

b. Intellectual:

“Ability to grasp the meaning of words and symbols.”

c. Motor ability:

“With agile fingers and hands the various papers, cards, pencils, type writers, comptometer and other office tools are manipulated. Although different clerical jobs require different kinds of traits, yet the differences are more or less of magnitude than of kind. Speed and accuracy are the essential characteristics of all clerical jobs, but these are needed more by a bank clerk.” There are a number of standardized clerical aptitude tests.

Some important tests are:

(1) Minnesota Clerical Test

(2) General Clerical Test

(3) Detroit Clerical Aptitude Test etc.

How can Clerical Aptitude are Measured.

Clerical Aptitude can be measured through the following ways:

1. Grade in academic Subjects:

Here subjects usually considered for this purpose are English, type writing, book keeping etc.

2. Social Ability:

The social ability of a person can be measured through his participation in curricular activities.

3. Aptitude Test:

Standardized tests have also been found to be useful in indicating success in clerical jobs. It has been found that factors like general intelligence, speed and accuracy in checking and measuring business arithmetic determine the suitability of an individual for a clerical job. Abilities with regard to English and Hindi usage, spelling, vocabulary, hand writing, etc. are also important. More than 30 years ago, Muscio and Sowton made an effort to measure aptitude for typing in London.

Five types of questions were included in this type of question:

(1) Reproduction of sentences immediately after they are read

(2) Carrying out directions,

(3) Calculating products of numbers,

(4) Completion of sentences, and

(5) Spelling test.

The Minnesota Clerical Test:

This test is designed to select persons for accountancy and book-keeping. Super recommends that it can-be used with adolescents but very cautiously. Besides there is Johnson O’cannon’s clerical test.

(3) Art Aptitude Tests:

Seashore and Meier devised an Art Judgment Test. It consists of 125 pairs of pictures. Each pair consists of two pictures painted by some famous artists, one picture being of a superior quality and the other of inferior type. The person taking the test is shown these pictures and asked to select from each pain the one that is the “More pleasing, more artistic, more satisfying.” After counting the score, we find the aptitude of the subject for art. Another test that may be mentioned in this category is of McAdory Art Test.

Seashore Musical Tests:

These tests are designed to measure pitch, intensity, time timber, tonal memory and rhythm – the factors which determine the suitability of a man in music. Seashore established a clinic at the University of Law in 1916 for testing musical capacity.

The assessment is made on the following bases:

I. Musical Sensitivity which takes note of:

Simple form of impression, which includes

(i) Sense of pitch,

(ii) Sense of intensity,

(iii) Sense of time,

(iv) Sense of extensity.

(b) Complex form of appreciation, which includes

(i) Sense of rhythm,

(ii) Sense of time,

(iii) Sense of consonance,

(iv) Sense of volume.

II. Musical Action, which includes:

(i) Control of pitch,

(ii) Control of intensity,

(iii) Control of time,

(iv) Control of volume.

III. Musical Memory, which includes:

(i) Auditory imagery,

(ii) Motor imagery,

(iii) Creative imagination,

(iv) Memory span,

(v) Learning power.

IV. Musical intellect, which includes:

(i) Musical free association,

(ii) Musical power of reflection,

(iii) General intelligence.

V. Musical feelings, which include,

(i) Musical taste,

(ii) Emotional reaction to music,

(iii) Emotional self-expression in music.

Seashore stresses that all these factors should be the determining factors and not a single one.

(4) Tests of Scientific Aptitude:

“This two-hour test for students in college and senior high school has been shown to reveal at least as much about the relative scientific aptitude of college students as science teachers discover after a semester or more of contact with them. It provides an indication of aptitude for the various branches of engineering, chemistry, physics, biology and other work in which success depends in part upon the ability to profit by training in scientific method.

Performance is relatively independent of acquired knowledge. Whatever specific information is needed is furnished in the test. Since, it makes no attempt to ascertain whether a person actually knows enough about mathematics for example, to enable him to profit by engineering studies, such information must be sought from the school record or from standard achievement test.” —Bingham

This test has been developed by Zyve. It contains a number of exercises to measure eleven of the components including ability to suspend judgment, to detect fallacies and inconsistencies to reason logically and originally and to draw correct inductions and deductions.

How Aptitude Tests are Constructed?

The research workers observe the people who are in such occupations and find out such characteristics of a vocation or a job which are essential to make a person successful in that career e.g., if we want to have a test for engineering aptitude, we will watch successful engineers and find out the common characteristics in them which have made them successful. On the basis of those characteristics aptitude tests will be administered to the students.

Construction involves these processes:

(a) A careful analysis of the occupation into its elements,

(b) Determination of the psychological qualities important in respect of each element,

(c) Testing of individuals for these qualities,

(d) Finding out the correlation between performance in the test and performance in the occupation.

3. Educational Aptitude Test:

Yele has developed a, battery of educational aptitude test to measure a person’s relative aptitude in:

(i) Linguistic ability

(ii) Verbal reasoning

(iii) Quantitative reasoning

(iv) Verbal ability

(v) Mathematical aptitude

(vi) Teaching aptitude and

(vii) Spatial visualizing

Here let us discuss the teaching aptitude tests.

(5) Teaching Aptitude Test:

Teaching aptitude test may broadly contain three types of test items:

(1) Test items relating to knowledge in the areas of aptitude test, teachers trait test, teaching efficiency inventories, teaching attitude test, and tests of intelligence and general mental ability.

(2) Test items relating to the application of principles in various areas related to teaching.

(3) Test items relating to education and allied areas of a miscellaneous nature.

Broad Areas Relating To Teaching Aptitude:

Teaching aptitude, would to a large extent, be determined by the candidate’s knowledge in the following areas:

1. Educational thought-the contribution of great educators.

2. Standard work on education

3. Pupil-teacher relations.

4. Special needs of backward and gifted students.

5. Educational practices in general.

6. Teaching techniques for special subjects.

7. Evaluation and measurement.

8. Institutional planning.

9. Planning individual lesson.

10. Role of mass media in education.

11. Discipline-response to common classroom situation.

12. Parent-teacher co-operation.

13. Home assignment.

14. Professional growth.

15. Education and society.

Many more areas could be added to this list.

A brief description of teaching aptitude test is given below:

1. Jaiprakash’s Teaching Aptitude Test:

(Hindi) It contains 150 items for measuring 10 essential elements of teaching aptitude and can be administered in 45 minutes. It can be used with individuals over 18 years of age.

2. M.M. Shah’s:

‘An aptitude test for secondary school teachers construction and standardisation. (Ph. D. Edu. M.S. University of Baroda, 1962), was aimed at developing a tool to measure teaching attitude. Construction of the test started with job analysis.

The battery test was framed with the following five subtests:

1. Mental ability

2. Attitude towards children

3. Adaptability

4. Professional information

5. Interest in the profession.

Most of the items were of multiple choice type. It includes l20 items.

3. Construction and Standardisation of an aptitude test for teaching. (Ph. D) thesis, R.P. Shrivastav, Sagar university, 1965. The aims of the study were;

(i) To construct and standardise a teaching aptitude test with special reference to teachers working in primary schools and junior high schools.

(ii) To find the relationship between the teaching aptitude scores and the internal assessment marks obtained in their home examinations.

The test consisted of 150 statements is having five alternative responses.

4. Construction and standardisation of a Teaching Aptitude Test. (To be used for selection purposes in the institutions of Teacher Education for primary Level) was the Ph.D. Dissertation of K.P. Pandey, 1968.

The test included the following eight subjects:

1. Professional knowledge

2. Vocabulary

3. Inferential reasoning

4. Number series

5. Numerical reasoning

6. Logical selection

7. General information

8. Reading comprehension.

5. A Teacher Aptitude Test for Elementary School Teachers:

Ph.D. Thesis of S.N. Sharma, Patna University, 1969

The main objective of the study was to develop a test in Hindi for measuring teaching aptitude of elementary school teachers.

The test included the following sub-tests:

1. Mental ability

2. Attitude towards children

3. Adaptability

4. Professional information

5. Interest in the profession.

The tests consisted of 120 items.

6. Construction and Standardisation of the Aptitude Test for Secondary School Teachers:

B.M. Upadhyaya, Ph. D. Psychology, Saurashtra University, 1976.

The test included 125 items.

It was found that sex and socio-economic backgrounds were not related to aptitude for teaching, whereas academic discipline and previous experiences of teaching were found to be significantly related to aptitude for teaching.

7. Construction and Standardisation of an Aptitude Test for Primary School Teachers in Gujarat State. D.P. Patel, Ph.D. Education, South Gujarat University, 1980.

The test covered the following ten teacher traits:

1. Interest in the profession.

2. Attitude towards community.

3. Mental ability.

4. Professional information.

5. Attitude towards children.

6. Skill in teaching.

7. Ability to maintain discipline.

8. Health and interest in reading.

9. The test included 125 test items.

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