Defined Aptitude - Testing & Results
Testing Overview
Understanding the Connection Between Aptitudes and Abilities
In educational and career planning, distinguishing between 'aptitudes' and 'abilities' is essential for guiding students effectively. Aptitudes are the natural talents and inclinations that indicate a student's potential to acquire certain skills or master specific tasks with appropriate training and development. They are foundational and often indicate how easily a student might excel in various activities or subjects.
Abilities, on the other hand, are developed competencies and skills that a student has acquired through education, training, and experience. They represent what a student can currently do, which might be enhanced or refined through further education and practice.
How Aptitudes Translate to Abilities
Aptitudes serve as precursors to abilities. They provide the raw potential which, when nurtured through the right educational experiences and training, can develop into solid abilities. For instance, a student with a natural aptitude for quantitative reasoning might find that with the right mathematical education, this aptitude evolves into a strong ability in mathematical calculations and logical problem-solving.
Career Alignment Using ONET
Using the ONET ability content model, we can align potential careers to students’ aptitudes by identifying which careers require the abilities that students are naturally inclined to develop. This model helps in forecasting which fields students might excel in, based on their inherent talents and the skills they are likely to develop during their educational journey. Each ONET Career is evaluated for both the importance and level of each individual ability as it relates to the career.
For 8th and 9th graders, understanding this connection can be incredibly motivating. It helps them see the relevance of their current education and how it applies to future career opportunities. For educators and administrators, using aptitudes as a basis for guiding students in course selections and extracurricular activities means fostering a more engaging and relevant educational experience that aligns with each student’s potential career path.
Practical Application in Educational Settings
In practical terms, this means that educators should focus not only on developing current abilities but also on recognizing and nurturing underlying aptitudes. Assessments should look to identify both, providing a comprehensive view of a student's potential. Career guidance can then be tailored to these insights, ensuring students are aware of and prepared for careers that align with both their natural talents and developed skills.
By integrating the ONET model into our administrative guides and testing protocols, we provide a structured pathway for students to realize their potential, guiding them from aptitude to ability, from the classroom to career.
The ONET Model
The ONET Abilities Content Model can be seen below. The 15 items which are bolded are the abilities which are presented to the student.
| 1.A.1 | Cognitive Abilities | Abilities that influence the acquisition and application of knowledge in problem solving |
| 1.A.1.a | Verbal Abilities | Abilities that influence the acquisition and application of verbal information in problem solving |
| 1.A.1.a.1 | Oral Comprehension | The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| 1.A.1.a.2 | Written Comprehension | The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| 1.A.1.a.3 | Oral Expression | The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| 1.A.1.a.4 | Written Expression | The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
| 1.A.1.b | Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities | Abilities that influence the application and manipulation of information in problem solving |
| 1.A.1.b.1 | Fluency of Ideas | The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). |
| 1.A.1.b.2 | Originality | The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. |
| 1.A.1.b.3 | Problem Sensitivity | The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| 1.A.1.b.4 | Deductive Reasoning | The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| 1.A.1.b.5 | Inductive Reasoning | The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| 1.A.1.b.6 | Information Ordering | The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| 1.A.1.b.7 | Category Flexibility | The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
| 1.A.1.c | Quantitative Abilities | Abilities that influence the solution of problems involving mathematical relationships |
| 1.A.1.c.1 | Mathematical Reasoning | The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. |
| 1.A.1.c.2 | Number Facility | The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly. |
| 1.A.1.d | Memory | Abilities related to the recall of available information |
| 1.A.1.d.1 | Memorization | The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. |
| 1.A.1.e | Perceptual Abilities | Abilities related to the acquisition and organization of visual information |
| 1.A.1.e.1 | Speed of Closure | The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns. |
| 1.A.1.e.2 | Flexibility of Closure | The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material. |
| 1.A.1.e.3 | Perceptual Speed | The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object. |
| 1.A.1.f | Spatial Abilities | Abilities related to the manipulation and organization of spatial information |
| 1.A.1.f.1 | Spatial Orientation | The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you. |
| 1.A.1.f.2 | Visualization | The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged. |
| 1.A.1.g | Attentiveness | Abilities related to application of attention |
| 1.A.1.g.1 | Selective Attention | The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. |
| 1.A.1.g.2 | Time Sharing | The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources). |
| 1.A.2 | Psychomotor Abilities | Abilities that influence the capacity to manipulate and control objects |
| 1.A.2.a | Fine Manipulative Abilities | Abilities related to the manipulation of objects |
| 1.A.2.a.1 | Arm-Hand Steadiness | The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. |
| 1.A.2.a.2 | Manual Dexterity | The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. |
| 1.A.2.a.3 | Finger Dexterity | The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |
| 1.A.2.b | Control Movement Abilities | Abilities related to the control and manipulation of objects in time and space |
| 1.A.2.b.1 | Control Precision | The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions. |
| 1.A.2.b.2 | Multilimb Coordination | The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. |
| 1.A.2.b.3 | Response Orientation | The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part. |
| 1.A.2.b.4 | Rate Control | The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene. |
| 1.A.2.c | Reaction Time and Speed Abilities | Abilities related to speed of manipulation of objects |
| 1.A.2.c.1 | Reaction Time | The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears. |
| 1.A.2.c.2 | Wrist-Finger Speed | The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists. |
| 1.A.2.c.3 | Speed of Limb Movement | The ability to quickly move the arms and legs. |
| 1.A.3 | Physical Abilities | Abilities that influence strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination |
| 1.A.3.a | Physical Strength Abilities | Abilities related to the capacity to exert force |
| 1.A.3.a.1 | Static Strength | The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. |
| 1.A.3.a.2 | Explosive Strength | The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object. |
| 1.A.3.a.3 | Dynamic Strength | The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue. |
| 1.A.3.a.4 | Trunk Strength | The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing. |
| 1.A.3.b | Endurance | The ability to exert oneself physically over long periods without getting out of breath |
| 1.A.3.b.1 | Stamina | The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath. |
| 1.A.3.c | Flexibility, Balance, and Coordination | Abilities related to the control of gross body movements |
| 1.A.3.c.1 | Extent Flexibility | The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs. |
| 1.A.3.c.2 | Dynamic Flexibility | The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs. |
| 1.A.3.c.3 | Gross Body Coordination | The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion. |
| 1.A.3.c.4 | Gross Body Equilibrium | The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position. |
| 1.A.4 | Sensory Abilities | Abilities that influence visual, auditory and speech perception |
| 1.A.4.a | Visual Abilities | Abilities related to visual sensory input |
| 1.A.4.a.1 | Near Vision | The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| 1.A.4.a.2 | Far Vision | The ability to see details at a distance. |
| 1.A.4.a.3 | Visual Color Discrimination | The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness. |
| 1.A.4.a.4 | Night Vision | The ability to see under low light conditions. |
| 1.A.4.a.5 | Peripheral Vision | The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead. |
| 1.A.4.a.6 | Depth Perception | The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object. |
| 1.A.4.a.7 | Glare Sensitivity | The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting. |
| 1.A.4.b | Auditory and Speech Abilities | Abilities related to auditory and oral input |
| 1.A.4.b.1 | Hearing Sensitivity | The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness. |
| 1.A.4.b.2 | Auditory Attention | The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds. |
| 1.A.4.b.3 | Sound Localization | The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated. |
| 1.A.4.b.4 | Speech Recognition | The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| 1.A.4.b.5 | Speech Clarity | The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
Understanding Aptitude Test Results
Each student receives a score for each of the 15 areas of the ONET Content Model which are spread across the 4 main areas of:
- Cognitive
- Psychomotor
- Physical
- Sensory
Each of the 15 areas contains a number of questions to evaluate the students aptitude or potential ability in that area. Some questions cover multiple aptitudes, while other focus on a single aptitude.
Some areas are more difficult to test given the constraints of time and materials. In these cases, we choose to offer multiple self-assessment options to each student. Students are encouraged to answer truthfully in these scenarios as the answers greatly impact final testing results.
Test career results are derived from the ONET Ability Content Model Ratings. Student scores are mapped to career ability ratings and weighted based upon the abilities:
- Importance Rating - This rating indicates the degree of importance a particular descriptor is to the occupation. The possible ratings range from "Not Important" (1) to "Extremely Important" (5).
- Level Rating - This rating indicates the degree, or point along a continuum, to which a particular descriptor is required or needed to perform the occupation.
The purpose of the aptitude test is not to prescribe a specific career path, but to offer students a range of potential careers to explore over the next four years. Just the awareness of a range of careers can help students understand potential opportunities in their post high-school world. The results are presented in three distinct formats, each designed to highlight different aspects of a student's aptitudes and potential career trajectories.
It should be noted that in each of the categories the student can and will receive results that they would either not expect, believe to be "below" their abilities, or believe to be "above" their abilities. These selections are a feature, not a bug, of the results. They will open up more exploration opportunities than a smaller, more prescriptive approach.
The results:
Results are categorized into these 3 sections:
Top 5 Strengths
Each student's top five aptitudes are identified and presented as key strengths. These strengths are accompanied by an informative video that explains the nature of each aptitude, its relevance in various careers, and strategies for further development. Additionally, six related careers that heavily rely on each specific aptitude are suggested. These careers are selected to illustrate how the aptitude can be applied in the workforce, regardless of whether they are among the student's highest overall career matches.
Top Results by Education and Experience Required (ONET Job Zone)
This breakdown categorizes the top career options based on the level of education and experience required, as defined by ONET Job Zones. It helps students understand the educational pathways and the amount of work experience needed to pursue each career, enabling a more informed decision-making process about their future educational goals.
Top Overall Results
The test also provides a comprehensive list of the top 50 career matches based on the student’s results, offering an unfiltered overview of potential interests. This broad spectrum allows students to explore a wider array of possibilities without the constraints of ONET Job Zone filtering, sparking curiosity and further research into each field.
Defined Careers - Deeper Exploration
Each career presented contains a small snapshot of the description, responsibilities, and average salary. In addition, each career has a corresponding career course in Defined Careers. These courses contain relevant career cluster overviews, pathway overviews, deep dives with a related post-secondary search, and finally a real-world project experience in the career. These career experiences allow students to not only explore careers, but to experience them through the lens of a professional in that particular field. Projects can be uploaded and added to portfolios as well.