Use the The Differential Aptitude Tests™ – Next Generation battery of tests to assess the levels of a number of cognitive abilities and aptitudes. Before you invest time and money to train a new employee, test your applicants for:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Space Relations
• Numerical Ability
• Language Usage
• Abstract Reasoning
• Mechanical Reasoning

This test provides the answers you need to make an informed decision.

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Primary Use: Selection and Development
Assessment Type: Cognitive: General Mental Ability (GMA) through the measurement of abstract reasoning
Job Level: Entry level through to managerial job roles
Job Type: Any role requiring individuals to have an expected level of GMA and grasp new concerts quickly
Number of Items: 15
Estimated Time: 11 minutes (untimed)
Administration Format: Unproctored

Available Languages:

• German
• English (United Kingdom)
• English (United States)
• Spanish (Spain, International Sort)
• French
• Italian
• Dutch
• Portuguese
• Turkish

What do the Differential Aptitude Tests™ – Next Generation measure?

The Differential Aptitude Tests™ – Next Generation, or DAT-NG for short, are a battery of tests designed to assess the levels of a number of cognitive abilities and aptitudes.

Measuring these cognitive abilities can give an indication of an individual’s aptitudes across a wide range of occupations. In addition to this, the DAT tests are also used to predict success in training programs and are good overall predictors of performance in many job roles.

Differential Aptitude Tests™ – Next Generation (Next Gen or NG) is the latest version containing the five most popular sub-tests:

• Verbal Analogies measures the ability to reason with concepts framed in written words.
• Numerical Calculations measures the ability to carry out arithmetic computation and reason with numerical data.
• Numerical Sequences measures inductive reasoning using numerical content and elementary arithmetic.
• Abstract Reasoning measures the ability to solve unfamiliar problems and learn new things quickly.
• Space Relations measures levels of spatial awareness and the ability to visualize a three-dimensional object or diagram from a two-dimensional one.

N.B. The previous DAT™ editions contained a test of mechanical reasoning. This test has been replaced by the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (BMCT-II), which measures the same construct and is equivalent in terms of level of difficulty. The BMCT-II is item-banked but not adaptive.

Abstract Reasoning:

A non-verbal, online and adaptive, test. Abstract reasoning is defined as the ability to analyze information, detect patterns and relationships, and solve problems on an intangible level. Abstract reasoning tests are widely used by psychologists to measure general mental ability (GMA). This test measures levels of fluid intelligence which individuals tap into when working out new and unfamiliar problems for the first time.

Individuals with higher scores on this assessment are more likely to learn or “grasp” new things quickly, think laterally, solve unfamiliar problems and make meaning out of confusion.

As a non-verbal measure, the test can provide a fairer measure of GMA for groups of job applicants containing individuals with different native languages.

The main features of this new test in the DAT series are:

• the test is suitable for unsupervised (unproctored) administration due to an “item-bank” design whereby items (questions) are selected from a large pool;
• it is also suitable for online completion in a supervised environment such as assessment or development centers;
• adaptive testing offers a shorter test that not only improves the candidate experience but can also provide the assessor with a score that is more reliable;
• the adaptive nature of the test allows individuals with differing levels of GMA to be assessed with the same test.

Numerical Calculations:

Measures the understanding of numerical relationships and facility in handling numerical operations.

The Numerical Calculations test items focus on numerical computation skills rather than numerical reasoning via the ability to perform numerical operations: subtraction, division, multiplication and addition as well as algebra, percentages and numerical sequences.

Numerical Calculations predicts success in positions that require quantitative thinking and mathematical computation.

Scores on the Numerical Calculations test have a strong correlation with scores on the DAT™ Next Generation: Numerical Sequences (r = 0.63) as they both tap into the same cognitive area. Numerical sequences, however, was developed to allow those individuals with only a limited knowledge of mathematics to be assessed for numerical ability.

The main features of this test (Numerical Calculations) in the DAT series are:

• the test is suitable for unsupervised (unproctored) administration due to an ‘item-bank’ design whereby questions are randomly selected from a large pool;
• it is also suitable for online completion in a supervised environment such as assessment or development centers;
• adaptive testing offers a shorter test that not only improves the candidate experience but can also provide the assessor with a score that is more reliable.

Numerical Sequences:

Assesses numerical ability by measuring inductive reasoning. In this assessment, the test test-taker is required to identify underlying conceptual relations using numerical content.

Research has shown that the ability to answer items in a number of numerical aptitude tests requires not only an ability to reason but also a knowledge of mathematical formulae and the ability to calculate and compute. As a result, DAT Numerical Sequences was designed for use by people whose mathematical knowledge may be limited. Completing numerical sequences only relies on a knowledge of the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) using positive numbers.

The format of numerical sequences presents grids of questions or matrices that use sequences, analogies and combinations of elements, in different ways. The test-taker must deduce the rule in order to determine the pattern and come up with the next logical number, or numbers, in the sequence.

• Both DAT Numerical Sequences and Calculations measure numerical ability and the scores on the Numerical Sequences test has a strong correlation with scores on the DAT™ Next Generation: Numerical Calculations (r = 0.63) as they both tap into the same cognitive area.
  The main features of this new test (Numerical Sequences) in the DAT series are:the test is suitable for unsupervised (unproctored) administration due to an ‘item-bank’ design whereby questions are randomly selected from a large pool;
• it is also suitable for online completion in a supervised environment such as assessment or development centers;
• adaptive testing offers a shorter test that not only improves the candidate experience but can also provide the assessor with a score that is more reliable;
• numerical sequences allow those individuals with only a limited knowledge of mathematics to be assessed for numerical ability.

Space Relations:

Measures an individual’s level of spatial awareness and reasoning by assessing the ability to visualize a three-dimensional object or diagram from a two-dimensional one.

Those with high scores in this assessment are likely to: accurately imagine how an object would look if made from a given pattern or plan, readily visualize how a particular object would appear if rotated in a specified manner and accurately visualize how an object would look in three-dimensional space.

A number of job roles require this specific mental ability.

The main features of this new test (Space Relations) in the DAT series are:

• the test is suitable for unsupervised (unproctored) administration due to an ‘item-bank’ design whereby questions are randomly selected from a large pool;
• it is also suitable for online completion in a supervised environment such as assessment or development centers;
• adaptive testing offers a shorter test that not only improves the candidate experience but can also provide the assessor with a score that is more reliable.

Verbal Analogies:

This verbal reasoning test measures the ability to understand concepts framed in written words by identifying analogies between pairs of words. For many years numerous psychologists have believed that analogies represents an effective way to measure verbal reasoning ability.

Rather than focusing on simple fluency or vocabulary recognition, this test is aimed at the ability to think constructively and recognize subtle relationships and commonalities among apparently different concepts and manipulate ideas on an abstract level.

Verbal reasoning is required in many job roles and it is the most widely measured of the specific cognitive abilities.

Research demonstrates that tests of verbal reasoning ability can predict success in job roles that require the understanding of complex verbal relationships and skill in manipulating verbal concepts. This predictive nature of ability tests is also the reason why they are widely used in entrance tests (exams) to further education training courses.

The main features of this new test (Verbal Analogies) in the DAT series are:

• the test is suitable for unsupervised (unproctored) administration due to an ‘item-bank’ design whereby questions are randomly selected from a large pool, ensuring items do not become overexposed;
• it is also suitable for online completion in a supervised environment such as assessment or development centers;
• adaptive testing offers a shorter test that not only improves the candidate experience but can also provide the assessor with a score that is more reliable.

 

 

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