Download Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT) and more Thesis Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!
' I
Abstr
act Reasoni ng 3
3
Form
Among Mavv Scores fOr the D ifferentia
l
A
|DtitUcle
Tests, Fifth yg; ;
C
and Fourth Edition Form
V
t
pi
Male (N = 348)
Verb II R easoning (VR)
1 0.
E i
erical
Re asoning (N R
)
Ab
stract Re asoning
P
erce
ptual Speed
& Accuracy 4
M ec har tiCal
Reas oning
5
Spac e
Relatio
ns
S
pelling
Lan gua
ge Usage
9
E
du catio n al A ptitude (VR + NR)
9
F
emal e
(N - 279)
rbal R
easoning
(VR)
1
umerical
R easoning
(NR)
i
Perce
ptual Speed
& Accuracy 4
Mecharti
cal
R
easoning 5
Space
Relation S
6
Spelling y
L
a ngua ge Usage
8
Ed UCational Aptitude (VR + NR)
9
Combined Gender (N = 627)
Verbal Reasoning (VR) 1 0.
Educational Aptitude (VR + NR) 9
. G.. I i
0.S
Relationships To Other Aptitude Measures
Support for the construct validity of the DAT can be found in the relationship between (›ertcr’
mance on the DAT and performance on other aptitude tests. The results of studies of the re1‹i-
tionship
between the DAT and other measures of aptitude or ability are summarised in T‹al°les
21 and 22.
A
general pattern
of substantial correlations between DAT scores and other iiieastires or ap
ti
tude
or ability is
apparent
in Table 21. Overall, the correlations of the test pairs that
presurnabl}'
me
asure
relate
d abilities are of greater magnitude than those of
test pairs measuring less
close-
]y
re
late
d
a
biliti
es,
which supports the construct validity of the DAT
subtests. For exa
mple,
MR
G-
S
cor
s
on
the
DAT co
rrela
te
as high as 0.70 with the Mechanical
and Crafts
composi
te scores
of
i
t°
Numerical Reasoning (NR) 2 0.
Abstract Reasoning 3 0.
Perceptual Speed &
Accuracy
Mechanical Reasoning S
Space Relations 6
I* “
TABLE 2Z. Coefficients of Correlation Between the DAT Fifth EclitiOn Level 2 ancl
Tests, UK StancIardisatiOF\ Programme
car’
”””'''s « s ''^ «....sr,
Cognitive Ability Test
at age 10 / 11
Verbal
Quantiti e
Now-verbal
I’ll anvils US 0.
8S 0.
88
Cognitive Ability
Test at age 13 / 14
Verbal
Quantitix
e Non-
verbal
Relationships to Measures of Achievement
Further
support for the validity of the DAT can be found in the relationship between
perfor-
mance on the DAT and performance on other standardised tests. The results
of studies of the relationship between DAT scores and standardised achievement test
performance are sum- marised in Table 23. Most of the correlation coefficients range
from moderate to high in magni- tude. The correlations of test scores obtained from
Perceptual Speed and Accuracy tend to be the lowest. The results suggest that the
DAT can be useful in the prediction of achievement. The magnitude of the correlation
coefficients indicates a positive relationship between DAT and achievement test
results; but the information obtained from DAT testing is not redundant with
information obtained from achievement testing.
Relationships to Educational Attainment
DAT scores
are related to cumulative grade point averages (school exam marks
across all sub-
jects) for students in
Grades 10 to 12 (ages 15 to 18) in Table 24.
Examination of these correla-
tions reveals that the
VR + NR composite score,
Educational Aptitude, is usually the best pre-
dictor of grade point
average.
The
correlations between the DAT composite scores and grade
point averages range
from
to 0.84, with most of the correlations in the 0.60s and 0.70s. The
Verbal
Reasoning and
Numerical
Reasoning tests also tend to be good predictors, with the
majority
of
these correlations in the
0.60s
and
0.70s.
Pe
rceptua
l
Speed and Accuracy and
Mechanica
l Reasoning are the DAT scores least relatec4 tc°
grade point
averages. Ap
proxima
tely
2/ 3
of the correlations for these more specified
aptitt1c4e?•
are 0.29 or lower,
as m
ight be exp
eCtۥd.
Other
A
ptitucle
0.37 0.35 0.21 tJ.27 0.25 (1.
0.53 G.35 › ,›
0.51 0.55 0.09 0.29 0.26 (I.45 0. 0.53 5.78 1.
0.55 0.63 0.25 0.50 0.59 0.32 0.44 0.64 6.18 1.
Yl pupils 106 0.66 0.39 0.43 —0.09 0.42 0.46 0.46 0.63 0.62 105.
0
106 0.50 0.51 0.59 - 0.10 0.35 0.41 0.42 0.43 0.59 102.
0
2
106 0.58 0.47 0.61 0.03 0.52 0. 0.45 0.50 0.63 107.41 11.
9
Ab
ility
test
iS
the best
p
red
ictO
fiS tà
course
grades in so many
a
l“eaS
aptitudes: Verbal Reasoning, Nrirnei ical
guidance professionals to
be able
Accuracy, Mechanical Reasoning, Space
Relations,
decisions, test COl2tent needs to bear a relationship to dittcrent
DAT meets this requirement; the eight tosts within the DAT
courses of study and Cal'eei’ fields are discussed
below.
n
n
Structure of the Di
fferentia
l
Ap(l
tucle tests
I
f you are not yet familiar with the
DAT you may find it useful
you read the following description s of the tests.
Verbal Reasoning
The Verbal Reasoning test
m easures the
ability to see relationships among words. The
test con-
sists of analogies. Each analogy has
tWO WOrds missing - the first
cord in the
first relationship
and the second word in
the second relationship. Thus the test
assesses the ability to infer the
relationship
between the first pair of words and apply that
relationship to the second pair
of
words.
The Verbal Reasoning test may
be useful in helping to predict success in academic courses as
well as in many
occupations, including business, law, education, journalism, and the sciences.
Numerical Reasoning
The Numerical ReasOning test measures the ability to perform mathematical reasoning tasks.
In order to ensure that reasoning rather then computational facility is stressed, the computational
level of the problems is low.
Numerical reasoning is impOrtant fOr success in such courses as mathematics, physics, chem-
istry, and engineering. The ability to reason with numbers is also important in many occupa-
tions, such as bookkeeping, laboratory work, carpentry, and tool making.
Abstract Reasoning
The Abstract Reasoning test is a non-verbal measure of reasoning ability. It
assesses 1ic›w well individuals can reasOn with geometric figures or designs. Each test item
is a geoineti
ie str ice ill
which the elements change according to a given rule. The test
taker infers the rule(s) t/ «
operating and predicts the next step in the series, based upon those rules.
This type of abstract reasoning is important in courses or occupations
that rcrjiiire
the
see relationships among objects in terms of their size, shape, position,
aiir4 rjt a
l
- 1 \’ include such fields as mathematics, computer programming,
drafting,
and c.1r •*
Perceptual Speed and Accuracy
The Perceptual Speed and Accuracy test measures the ability to
quickly and accurately. The test items do not call for reasoning
speed.
to elet to the test
BOOklet as
Both Levels 1 and 2 are ciesigned to
a ssess the sang
of tests and the sante nunabcr of items. The
iW
they yield.
TABLE 1. Item Content anct Testing Times
tests
Verbal Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning
Abstract Reasoning
Perceptual Speed and Accuracy
Part 1
Part 2
Mechanical Reasoning
Space RelatiOns
Spelling
Language Usage
Components o£ the DAT
Manual
This Manual provides all the information required to administer and score the
DAT and to interpret test results by reference to a number of different sets of
normative data. lt also pro-
vides
information about the rationale for the DAT and
the history
and development of the test.
Test Booklet
The Test
BOoklet
contains
examples
and questions for each of the
eight DAT tests
and is
reusable.
nswer Sheet
separate Answer Sheet is
required for each
adm
inistrati
on
of the test. All
responses are
recorded on this document.
The
A
nswerSheet is
carbonate
d
allowing for q
uick and
easy scor-
ing of the tests.
Practice
Test velopme
nt
of a Practic
e Test
ThiS Pr
actice
Test
pf
OVld
eS
The revision of the
DAT
included the
de
general informatio
n
and
advice
on taking
tions for each of the
eight DAT tests.
tests
aS
well as sp
ecif
ic
exam
U S
and p
raCtic
e
q
ueS-
M
achine-Sco
rab
le Answer
S
heets
Ma
chine-Scor
able Answe
r
Sheets
are
t
s O a
vailabl
e
for
use
w
Î{h O Îi •i
M
ark de
/@ (OMF•*)’
Please contact
Pearson A
ssessmen
t
for
further detail
Na
rrative-Writing S
oftware
For the first
time, W
indowS
s
oftwa
re is
av
ailab
le for
the
pr
2VÎ
S l
