Predicting Success in Vocational Training By Using the GATB

This study examined the relationship between the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)and class performance of eleventh- and twelfth-grade high school students enrolled in the Current River Area Vocational School, Doniphan, Missouri. Teachers' grades were used as the dependent variable, and the nine independent variables were scores taken from the aptitude factors of the GATB. The stepwise multiple regression technique was used to determine the optimal set of predictors to be used in establishing a regression equation. The results of the project should help in counseling prospective trainees toward trade or shop areas and tentative vocational planning. If not used out of perspective, the G variable in the GATB was the best single predictor of success; the best combination of variables was the G, N, P, F, and M aptitude factors.     

Measuring Manual Dexterity with the GATB: Wooden versus Plastic Pegboards

As part of a ten-year longitudinal study of vocational development being conducted in the Department of Vocational Education at The Pennsylvania State University, it was decided to administer the GATB to an entire ninth grade class of 1,050 boys and girls. Because both wooden and plastic pegboards were being used to assess GATB aptitude manual dexterity (M), it was decided to compare the scores obtained on the two different types of boards. Results of the study indicate that those students who were tested using the wooden boards performed significantly better than did students tested on the plastic boards. Converted score differences for aptitude M ranged from 3 to 26 points with an average difference of 11 points.     

Differential Predictability: Selection of Handicapped and Non-handicapped

This research is concerned with the question of differential predictability of handicapped and non-handicapped subgroups. The specific question posed was: Is the performance of non-handicapped subgroups of skilled, clerical, and non-skilled workers more predictable than that of handicapped subgroups when aptitude measures are used as predictors? Correlations between scores on selected scales of the GATB and a composite performance criterion were obtained for each of the subgroups. Results showed a pattern of consistently lower validities for the handicapped which suggests that aptitude measures typically used in selection may not be appropriate for the handicapped, and that validity coefficients may be diluted by the inclusion of this subgroup with the non-handicapped in validity studies.     

LINKING O*NET JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION TO JOB REQUIREMENT PREDICTORS: AN O*NET APPLICATION

This is an exploratory study that examined the possible application of the job component validity (JCV) model to identify potential employee selection instruments and to determine job requirement levels from O*NET job analysis data, following a research paradigm established with the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ). Job requirements were measured by mean aptitude test scores on the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), and the ratings on the O*NET Generalized Work Activities (GWAs) were selected as representative O*NET job analysis data. Multiple correlation coefficients ranging from .35 to .89 were found when predicting mean GATB test scores from GWAs. Similar to JCV research some 30 years ago, predictions were strongest for cognitive aptitudes and weakest for manual dexterity. The data were examined under both rational and cross-validated empirical models. The results have positive implications for the development of a database that would support JCV estimates derived from O*NET job analysis data and allow practitioners to use O*NET data to help identify useful employee selection instruments.     

GATB APTITUDE TESTING OF THE DEAF: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES

This study, based on aptitude testing of 408 deaf high school students, provides evidence that a modified version of the GATB is a useful instrument for measuring the occupational aptitudes of deaf individuals.     

Use of the General Aptitude Test Battery to Predict Success on the Tests of General Educational Development

An increasing trend in recent years has been the desirability of a high school diploma either as an entrance qualification of employment or as a by-product of a training program. As a result of this trend, the tests of General Educational Development (GED) are, in many states, being seen as an alternative for many individuals who have neither the time nor the inclination to reenter high school or other formal educational programs to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent. The purpose of this article is to examine data from the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) in an attempt to use that battery, or more appropriately, subtests of that battery to predict passage of the GED examination. Data were collected and analyzed from four different geographically diffuse states for both comparative and predictive capabilitites. It is concluded that the G and V scores on these subtests of the GATB (at 110 or greater on either of these aptitudes) indicate almost definite prediction for passage of the GED.     

Effects of short-term counseling on Career Maturity of tenth-grade students

The effectiveness of short-term counseling on Career Maturity of tenth-grade students as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory was studied. The Career Maturity Attitude Scale and the Self Appraisal subscale of the Competence Test were administered to a random sample (87 subjects) of tenth-grade students. The subjects whose scores fell below the mean were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups. The experimental group (17 subjects) received special counseling during a short term of 6 wk. Using repeated measures of analysis of variance, a statistically significant interaction was found with both the Self Appraisal subscale scores and the Total scale scores. Results indicate that career maturity as a developmental process can be measured and facilitated through counseling.     

Wire-bending test as a predictor of preclinical performance by dental students

Traditional Dental Aptitude Test and academic grade point average have been shown to be poor predictors of clinical performance by dental students. To refine predictors of psychomotor skills, a wire-bending test was given to 105 freshmen at the beginning of their dental education. Grades from seven restorative preclinical courses in their freshman and sophomore years were compared to scores on wire bending and the three traditional predictors: GPA, academic aptitude, and perceptual aptitude scores. Wire-bending scores correlated significantly with six out of seven preclinical restorative courses. The predictive power for preclinical performance was doubled when wire bending was added to traditional predictors in stepwise multiple regression analysis. Wire-bending scores identified students of low performance. These preliminary results suggest that the wire-bending test shows some potential as a screening test for identifying students who may hae psychomotor difficulties, early in their dental education.     

GATB Longitudinal Maturation Study

This article describes results of the first in a series of three large-scale longitudinal studies conducted by the U.S. Employment Service to increase the usefulness of the GATB for counseling high school students. The final sample consisted of 26,708 high school students. All were tested with the GATB in 1958, and those in the lower high school grades were retested in the twelfth grade. Results were as follows: (1) Stability coefficients were highest for the eleventh grade sample and lowest for the ninth grade sample. (2) Interval between initial testing and retesting had very little relationship to size of practice effect. (3) Maturation increases were largest between the ninth and twelfth grade and smallest between the eleventh and twelfth grade. (4) OAP stability was increased through use of a “band” around the cutting scores.     

Factor structure of an Arabic translation of the scale, preference for numerical information

An Arabic translation of Viswanathan's 1993 scale, Preference for Numerical Information, was administered to 157 tenth-grade students (M age = 16.1 yr.) in the United Arab Emirates. Analysis showed that the scale was homogeneous as the factor solution was comparable to that reported in the original study and item scores were moderately correlated with total scores when used in a different cultural setting.     

A COMPARISON OF A DISADVANTAGED SAMPLE WITH A NATIONAL SAMPLE ON THE GATB

The GATB is widely used in making vocational decisions. The norms are based on a national sample tested in 1952. In the study reported here the GATB results of a sample of disadvantaged individuals were compared to the results of the 1952 sample. Significant differences were obtained for five variables: name comparison, computation, vocabulary, tool matching, and arithmetic reasoning. In each case the scores of the national sample were higher. The differences occurred on variables of an academic nature, although mean education was approximately the same in both samples. Some reasons for the differences are suggested in this article.     

USE OF THE GATB “G” SCORE FOR PREDICTING ACHIEVEMENT ON THE GED

The present study investigates the relationship of the GATB “G” with the GED. Practical and theoretical implications are involved. Making use of samples from the Las Vegas, Nevada population, the study compares scores of individuals administered the GED and GATB. A substantial correlation for prediction purposes was devised to illustrate the use of the GATB “G” to predict, by interval, an individual's position on the GED. The expectancy table helps guide the Vocational Counselor with a constructive tool whereby he advises the next steps of action for an educationally deficient or proficient client. The study recommends further replications to determine if such studies could guide agency policies whereby vocational counseling practice is improved and agency testing costs reduced.     

USE OF THE GATB IN PREDICTING SUCCESS ON THE TESTS OF GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

An attempt was made to determine how useful the General Aptitude Test Battery can be when used as a predictor of success on the Tests of General Educational Development. The General Ability and Verbal Aptitude subtests of the GATB were found to be the best predictors. Estimating the applicant's chance of passing the GED from the ‘G’ and ‘V’ scores was discussed.     

Vocational maturity of Arab and American high school students

The vocational maturity of Arab and American ninth- and eleventh-grade students were compared. Arab students were found to have lower maturity scores than American students. Eleventh graders of both nationalities were more vocationally mature than ninth graders. The possibility that the overall difference found between Arab and American students can be attributed to cultural differences was supported by the response trend of discriminating items as revealed by an item analysis.     

Supervisor estimation of abilities required in jobs

The Minnesota Job Requirements Questionnaire (MJRQ) was developed and administered to supervisors of 11 selected jobs who rated the ability requirements of the job they supervised. The MJRQ represented each of nine GATB aptitudes by five items in a Likert-type format. MJRQ ratings were compared with expert ratings in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and Occupational Ability Patterns (OAPs) derived from administration of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). Reliability of MJRQ ratings was shown by high Hoyt reliability coefficients. Comparison of mean ratings and variabilities of ratings by supervisors in a job showed construct validity for the MJRQ approach, as did intercorrelations of MJRQ ratings. OAPs derived from the MJRQ compared favorably with those derived from the GATB and DOT, showing promise for the parsimonious MJRQ approach to the development of OAPs.     

Does test anxiety bias scholastic aptitude test performance by gender and sociocultural group?

This study examines the commonly held contention that test anxiety may serve as a source of bias in the scholastic aptitude test performance of gender and ethnic minority groups. In addition, this study examines sex and sociocultural group differences in the level and pattern of test anxiety among Israeli college students. The sample was composed of 163 male and 198 female students sitting for scholastic aptitude tests routinely administered to all student applicants as part of their college admissions procedures. About 67% were of Western cultural extraction whereas the remainder were of Eastern extraction. Significant differences in text anxiety scores for males and females were observed, with greater sex group differentiation on the Emotionality than on the Worry scale. Test anxiety scores were not discernible by ethnicity or social class. Furthermore, test anxiety was not differentially related to aptitude test scores by sex or sociocultural group membership. Thus, this study lends little evidence to the common contention that test anxiety differentially debilitates the aptitude test scores of females and ethnic minority student candidates.     

USE OF APTITUDE SCORES AS PREDICTORS OF SUCCESS IN OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING UNDER THE MDTA

Results from studies utilizing the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) to predict success in specific vocational training programs authorized by the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 are summarized. The summary involves over 1,200 trainees from a number of states in a variety of occupational areas. Trainees from all included studies were combined and then subgrouped on the basis of number of years of formal education claimed. Good prediction was obtained for the 0–7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 years-of-education groupings. The prediction obtained with the 13–16 years-of-education grouping is not at an acceptable level of significance, but this may be a result of the small sample available for this grouping. The results are seen as supporting Manpower Administration efforts to devise ways in which aptitude tests can be used to help match applicants with low levels of reported educational attainment with suitable vocational or training opportunities.     

Does Test Anxiety Bias Scholastic Aptitude Test Performance by Gender and Sociocultural Group?

This study examines the commonly held contention that test anxiety may serve as a source of bias in the scholastic aptitude test performance of gender and ethnic minority groups. In addition, this study examines sex and sociocultural group differences in the level and pattern of test anxiety among Israeli college students. The sample was composed of 163 male and 198 female students sitting for scholastic aptitude tests routinely administered to all student applicants as part of their college admissions procedures. About 67% were of Western cultural extraction whereas the remainder were of Eastern extraction. Significant differences in text anxiety scores for males and females were observed, with greater sex group differentiation on the Emotionality than on the Worry scale. Test anxiety scores were not discernible by ethnicity or social class. Furthermore, test anxiety was not differentially related to aptitude test scores by sex or sociocultural group membership. Thus, this study lends little evidence to the common contention that test anxiety differentially debilitates the aptitude test scores of females and ethnic minority student candidates.     

An examination of age and cognitive test performance across job complexity and occupational types

In this study, job complexity and occupational type were examined as potential moderators of the relationship between age and cognitive ability. Data included general, verbal, and numerical ability scores for 21,646 individuals in the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) data base. These individuals comprised 102 unique samples and 10 major occupational groups. Differences in the relationship between age and cognitive ability test scores were observed across occupational types but not for different levels of job complexity. Findings were discussed in terms of a need for research that examines specific life and work experiences and how such experiences may influence an individual's cognitive abilities across the life span.     

Validity of college admission indices for Jews and Arabs in Israel

This study examines Israeli cultural group differences in scholastic aptitude and achievement indices as well as the differential construct and predictive validity of precollege admission indices for Jewish and Arab students in Israel. The sample was composed of 1778 Jewish and 1017 Arab student candidates applying for admission to a major university. The admission indices include five scholastic aptitude subtests appearing on both the Hebrew and Arabic versions of the college entrance test battery and matriculation certificate grades in three required subjects. The predictor battery shows comparable factor structure across cultural groups. The correlations between aptitude and achievement predictors and first-year college G.P.A. were homogeneous across the groups. A slight degree of intercept bias was evidenced with the predictive indices tending to over predict the scholastic achievement of Arab students and under predict that of their Jewish counterparts. The results are consistent with previous research in America showing negligible differences in the construct and predictive validity of college admission tests for different cultural and racial groups.