Assessment Technology for Africa

AProLAB is a company that is active in the psychological assessment and related domains. It was founded in 1994 by Dr Terry Taylor, who previously worked at the HSRC as head of the Test Construction and Cognitive Research Division. AProLAB has published four learning potential test batteries – APIL B, APIL SV, TRAM-2 and TRAM-1. It also provides testing services, using these instruments.
Learning potential assessment is particularly important in the current world, where jobs change rapidly and people have to acquire new skills constantly. Because of past inequalities, where some people have not had the opportunity to gain certain specific cognitive skills, assessment of learning potential is fairer than conventional tests that measure those specific skills.
In addition to the learning potential batteries, the company publishes a test battery called BB-CAB, which measures fundamental cognitive and EQ dimensions, and a training course called CogLab, which teaches critical thinking skills. There are two other instruments nearing completion in their second generation, Performe and Sherlock/Holmes. The former is aimed at fitting person to job with regard to the individual’s preferences for various work activities; and the latter is a method of finding critical predictors of success in a given job or family of jobs, and weighting these optimally, to get the most effective prediction of job success.
AProLAB has a software package called aprolabservices.co.za, which delivers some of the above instruments as computerized tests, and is also used to capture scores from pencil-and-paper tests, so that reports on an individual can be generated. Other AProLAB instruments are available on the Omnicor platform in computerised form. All the learning potential tests are on the AProLAB system.