LEARNING POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Across a Wide Educational Spectrum

APIL B

APIL B was the first of the company’s learning potential instruments to be launched on the market, and has been used successfully for more than two decades to select people for jobs, select bursary applicants, and as a tool in career development. It is intended for people with post-matric education (degrees or national diplomas).
Eight dimensions are measured, but the user does not have to apply the full battery, which takes just under four hours to administer.  The eight dimensions are Conceptual Formation; Information Speed, Accuracy and Flexibility; Learning Gradient, Total Output in a Learning Task; Memory and Understanding of New Material; and Knowledge Transfer. Stanine scores are available on individual dimensions, and a global score is also calculated, representing overall learning potential. A large number of norm groups are available for benchmarking purposes.
This battery is available only in pencil-and –paper form, although the Concept Formation Test can be computer delivered.

APIL SV

The SV in the title stands for Short Version. This is a version of the APIL which has only four dimensions: Concept Formation; Learning Gradient; Output after a Learning Experience; and Memory and Understanding of New Material. As with APIL B, stanines on individual dimensions are calculated, as well as a global score. And, as with APIL B, the test is intended for individuals with post-matric education.
This battery can be computer-delivered, or can be administered in pencil-and-paper form. The Concept Formation Test can also be administered on its own. In this case, no global score is available for obvious reasons.
A large number of norm groups are available.
Mean global scores from the hard-copy and computerized versions, obtained from comparable samples, have proved to be almost identical.

TRAM-2

This battery is intended for people with between 10 and 12 years of education. Hence, it is widely used on blue-collar workers. The battery has five dimensions: Concept Formation, Speed, Accuracy, Memory, and Transfer.
The battery is designed to be administered in its entirety, but the Concept Formation Test can be given on its own, if time is a problem. In its full form, it can only be administered in paper-and-pencil form. The Concept Formation Test, however, can be computer-delivered. (This test is easier than the Concept Formation Test in the APIL B and APIL SV, although the format is the same.) The time to administer the entire test is about two-and-a-half hours.  The CFT on its own takes about 50 minutes.
Scores are available on the five component tests, and a global score is also available. There are a wide variety of norm groups.

TRAM-1

Five tests comprise the TRAM-1 battery. The dimensions are the same as TRAM-2, with the exclusion of the Concept Formation Test.  As with the other batteries, there are individual scores for each test and also a global score.
TRAM-1 is suitable for working people with between zero and nine years of education. No literacy is required. Instructions are delivered verbally and the stimulus material is all pictorial. The test material is not in a pencil-and-paper format, but rather erasable marker and plastic.  The sheets are A3 in size and laminated. The testee marks an answer by putting a cross over the option he or she chooses. To change an answer, the person wipes out the original answer with a cloth and enters the new one. The stimulus material and the answer sheet are one and the same, so the testee is not confused by having a separate answer sheet.
No part of TRAM-1 can be delivered online. The reason for this is that respondents at this educational level might be intimidated by computers.