In the early part of the 20th century, Psychometric Testing was developed for use in Educational Psychology. Now a days apart from education, the employers use it in the recruitment and selection of employees. The word 'Psychometric' is derived from the Greek words for mental and measurement ('Psycho' means 'mind' and 'metric' means 'measurement').
They attempt to measure aspects of mental ability or personality. It is a scientific method used to measure an individual's personality, interest, aptitude and ability and thus helps in making right career choices (job suitability). British psychologists suggested that it's possible to quantify thoughts, feelings and behavior. The test is an instrument designed to produce a quantitative assessment of psychological attributes. Psychometric Tests are tools for measuring mind, understanding one's self. They are the best ways to place the 'right people in the right career'.
THE OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS:
To provide a fairer assessment of your skills
To help you understand more about your abilities
To counsel the students to select a career path
To place the right people in the right job
The Psychometric Tests can be a paper-pencil test or an online test. They may include aptitude or ability tests, personality questionnaires or a combination of both.
Aptitude / Ability tests
They are designed to test the reasoning and cognitive capability of an individual. Each test is generally comprised of multiple-choice questions. Instructions are given before starting and there are some example questions to try with no time limit.
Personality questionnaires
These are not tests but indicators of personality type. They may have a time limit for completion. There is no right or wrong answer; the questionnaire is intended to give the employer a profile of interests and working style of a person.
Usually a set of questions or a series of statements or options are given to choose from. Usually the same questions or options are repeated in different ways. This is to establish consistency in responses to get a more accurate indication of preferences.
Career Interest Inventory
The Career Interest Inventory (CII), a psychometric test, developed by the University of Hertfordshire, was published in 1990. This is a career guidance instrument designed to provide information about students' educational goals, interest in a variety of school subjects, school related activities and in fields of work. This information helps students explore educational and occupational alternatives,
learn about careers, and set goals for the future. This form is meant for the students of Grades 7 to 12.
The approximate time for its administration is 30 minutes.
Multiple Intelligences
The theory of Multiple Intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner, an American Developmental Psychologist, in his 1983 book 'Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences' as a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into specific (primarily sensory) "modalities". Gardener is a Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that human beings have several different ways of learning and processing information, leading to multiple 'intelligences'. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. He did not use the term 'intelligence' as traditionally understood but used it where other people have traditionally used words like 'ability' and 'aptitude'.
For example, the theory postulates that a child who learns to multiply easily is not necessarily more intelligent than a child who has more difficulty in this task. The child who takes more time to master multiplication may best learn to multiply through a different approach, may excel in a field outside mathematics, or may be looking at and understanding the multiplication process at a fundamentally deeper level. Such a fundamental understanding can result in slowness and can hide a mathematical intelligence potentially higher than that of a child who quickly memorizes the multiplication table despite possessing a less deeper understanding of the process of multiplication.
It was found that an average person possesses all eight abilities but has three or four intelligences that are stronger than others. Thus, if the person selects a profession depending on his / her stronger intelligences, the rate of success becomes higher.
