I.

Introduction

Aptitude Test

An aptitude test is designed to assess what a person is capable of doing; to predict what a person is able
to learn or do given the right education and instruction. It represents a person's level of competency to
perform a certain type of task. It attempts to determine and measure a persons ability to acquire,
through future training, some specific set of skills. The tests assume that people differ in their special
abilities and that these differences can be useful in predicting future achievements.

The primary difference between achievement tests and aptitude tests is that aptitude tests tend to
focus more on informal learning or life experiences whereas achievement tests tend to focus on the
learning that has occurred as a result of relatively structured input.

Aptitude tests, also referred to as prognostic tests are typically used to make predictions. This test tends
to draw on a broader fund of information and abilities and may be used to predict a wider variety of
variables.

The Elementary-School Level

The age at which a child is mandated by law to enter school varies from state to state. Yet individual
children of the same chronological age may vary widely in how ready they are to separate from their
parents and begin academic learning. School readiness tests provide educators with a yardstick by which
to assess pupils abilities in areas as diverse as general information and sensorimotor skills. One of many
instruments designed to assess childrens readiness and aptitude for formal education is the
Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRTs).

The Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRTs)

The MRTs are a group-administered battery that assesses the development of the reading and
mathematics skills important in the early stages of formal school learning. This test is divided into two
levels: Level I, to be used with beginning and middle kindergarteners, and Level II, which spans the end
of kindergarten through first grade. There are two forms of the test at each level. The tests are orally
administered in several sessions and are untimed, though they typically require about 90 minutes
administering.

Split-half reliability coefficients for both forms of both levels of the MRT as well as Kuder-Richardson
measures of internal consistency were in the acceptably high range. Content validity was developed
through an extensive review of the literature, analysis of the skills involved in the reading process, and
the development of test items that reflected those skills. The predictive validity of MRT scores has been
examined with reference to later school achievement indices, and the obtained validity coefficients have
been relatively high.