APTITUDE TESTS

 

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BAP – Basic Aptitude Profile

CAP – Comprehensive Aptitude Profile

 

 

 

 

 

 

BAP – Basic Aptitude Profile

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The BAP forms part of a battery of two tests in the aptitude field, namely: the basic and general aptitude profiles. Both of these tests have a particular role to play in this sphere.  As the name implies, the BAP is more involved in the ‘groundwork’, so to speak, in that it is a much more basic instrument, determining the fundamental leaning in terms of the more primary and intrinsic abilities and attributes the testee possesses on which careers are built.  It relies more on the essential human faculties of cognitive and personality rather than abilities, proficiencies, competencies, skills, knowledge and interests the person acquires as a result of specific exposures and experiences at a later stage of his/her  life.  The BAP is thus an instrument that assesses and guides the testee in terms of the basic ‘broad stream of careers’ that his/her basic human capacity profile will ‘allow’ him/her to successfully enter into.

The basic human capacity is represented by the individual’s cognitive ability and specific profile as well as his/her personality orientation and specific structure/profile.  The concept of integrity is also added to the assessment process considering the fact that it also forms part of personality, that it is established at an early stage of the person’s life-cycle and that it is a wide and influential factor that plays an important and significant role in the testee’s career-life.  It may thus not really matter if a person has the ability and basic human capacity to make a success of the particular (broad) career-stream if he does not also possesses the necessary (minimum) integrity orientation in practical terms.

In summary, the BAP is focusing on assessing and guiding the testee in terms of his aptitudinal orientation based on more genetically determined human faculties (i.e., the gifted-profile) in his career choice in broad terms rather than also relying on the acquired competency and interest profiles that may result from the person’s exposure and experience in later life and the more specific career choices that may flow from this – that is more the role of the extended (but, nevertheless fully integrated) application phase related to the BAP, called the  Less Structured  Career Interpretation.

The BAP consists of two Divisions: A & B.  In Division A the testee’s cognitive ability is assessed via seven cognitive constructs and must be completed in 30 minutes.  In division B, personality is assessed via eight factors, integrity is measured via three factors and monitor is again measured by three factors.

Division B consists of 52 test-items and can be completed in 15 minutes.  In general, the BAP guides the candidate to making his career choice in general terms – identifying the broad career stream to fit his competency, attributes and interest profile(s).  The BAP could thus be completed in 40 – 45 minutes in total.

 

CAP – Comprehensive Aptitude Profile

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

 As mentioned above, the CAP covers the career-fit-field in much more detail than the BAP.  In contrast to the six career-categories used in the latter, the CAP uses 14 core functional career-categories (which attributes differentiate the CAP from other models in the career matching profile in the market). It also offers its user the option to choose the primary facet of the career matching process (i.e., the sphere where the inherent and more generically aptitudinal-orientation forms the focus of the assessment), the extended facet where the candidate’s interest profile is added to the assessment and matching process, or the counselling facet, where the candidate’s experience Profile is brought into play to fully cover the matching process.  The CAP also offers a more comprehensive list of personality attributes on the psychological dimensions side of the matching process in order to enhance the career requirements side of the matching process’s fit .

The test consists of two parts.  Part one again consists of two divisions: A & B, where Division A assesses 7 cognitive abilities in approximately 30 minutes and division B assesses 14 personality attributes in approximately 15 minutes.  Division B consists of a 42-item interest questionnaire which can be completed in approximately 10 minutes.  In total the test can be completed in less than one hour.

The CAP offers a very comprehensive summarised report in which specific attention is given to the three facets of the career matching process – including an integrated result in this regard.  It also guides the user in the counselling process and provides a career index consisting of the critical job-profiles  (according to the most crucial job requirements of each job) of hundreds of job/careers to hone in on the final decision from the assessment function to the basic essential detail the concept consists of.

Measured Areas:

Three Main Structures:

1. Cognitive
2. Personality
3. Integrity

Plus an interest and monitor scale.

Purpose

The CAP is particularly useful in determining the academic subjects a person must select to prepare himself/herself for his/her career future. It is also  particularly useful in selecting a final career as well as facilitating a person to adapt his career-orientation at a later stage in his/her career in practice. Lastly, it is also beneficial in the selection process of determining who to appoint or promote regarding the ‘best fit scenario’ and of course for development and career counselling.

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES

Reliability:	Ranging from 0.84 to 0.92 (Significant)
Validity:	Ranging from 0.44 to 0.64 (Significant)
Fairness:	No significant influence could be found relative to a wide variety of critical factors ranging from age, gender, race, culture and language in applying the instrument over a longitudinal period in practice. (Applying the ‘norming process’ on an N of 2711 and obtaining a statistical significance level of 0.001).
Readability:	Regarding the readability of the instrument, the Fry Readability Graph indicated that the instrument can be effectively used for people whose English is not their mother tongue, but a second language, at a Grade 0 Scholastic-level – i.e., approximately 10 – 12 years basic schooling experience.

GENERAL USE AND DECISION-MAKING RULES

• The CAP can be used under guidance of a counsellor at a grade 8 schooling level, but an assessee can complete the test on his/her own at a grade 10 schooling level.
• A score of ‘5’-sten (or lower) on the lie-detector should be considered a knock-out score.
• It is important to emphasise the importance of the use of correct information during the complexity of the test.
• It is strongly suggested that the third facet of the CAP be done by an experienced career counsellor.