The effect of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antibody status on military applicant aptitude test scores.

The authors conducted a population-based study to attempt to estimate the effect of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) seropositivity on Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test scores in otherwise healthy individuals with early HIV-1 infection. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is a 10-test written multiple aptitude battery administered to all civilian applicants for military enlistment prior to serologic screening for HIV-1 antibodies. A total of 975,489 induction testing records containing both Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and HIV-1 results from October 1985 through March 1987 were examined. An analysis data set (n = 7,698) was constructed by choosing five controls for each of the 1,283 HIV-1-positive cases, matched on five-digit ZIP code, and a multiple linear regression analysis was performed to control for demographic and other factors that might influence test scores. Years of education was the strongest predictor of test scores, raising an applicant's score on a composite test nearly 0.16 standard deviation per year. The HIV-1-positive effect on the composite score was -0.09 standard deviation (99% confidence interval -0.17 to -0.02). Separate regressions on each component test within the battery showed HIV-1 effects between -0.39 and +0.06 standard deviation. The two Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery component tests felt a priori to be the most sensitive to HIV-1-positive status showed the least decrease with seropositivity. Much of the variability in test scores was not predicted by either HIV-1 serostatus or the demographic and other factors included in the model. There appeared to be little evidence of a strong HIV-1 effect.

Arthroscopic and endoscopic skills: a method of assessment.

An aptitude test has been designed to assess the psychomotor ability of surgeons under the special conditions and difficulties of endoscopic surgery. Results show increased errors and inferior tracking skill when images are rotated or reflected under test conditions simulating endoscopy. This indicates that more than simple hand-eye co-ordination is required to perform good endoscopic surgery. Interestingly, a proportion of trainee surgeons found adaptation to these altered conditions difficult to master. This aptitude test might usefully identify junior surgeons who would benefit from extra tuition at instructional endoscopic courses. The implications for the selection and training of surgeons are discussed.

The zone of proximal development in in-hand manipulation skills of nondysfunctional 3- and 4-year-old children.

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of verbal and visual cues on 28 nondysfunctional 3- and 4-year-old children's performance of in-hand manipulation skills. During the uncued version of the test (pretest), the children were presented with play activities known to elicit in-hand manipulation skills in young children but were given no cues for specific manipulative skill use. Within 1 week of the pretest, after the children were randomly assigned to groups, a posttest was given in which the children were provided with verbal or visual cues. The results indicate that both visual and verbal cues were effective in increasing the groups' test scores, but no significant differences were found based on the type of cue provided. Approximately 30% of the children in the study showed marked improvement on the posttest scores, whereas the others showed little change. The children who had lower pretest scores showed greater score increases on the posttest than did the children who scored somewhat higher initially. The use of an uncued test followed by a cued test may be an effective method for the identification of those children who are most likely to show improvement in these manipulation skills with intervention. This study's findings lend tentative support to Vygotsky's (1978) zone of proximal development theory and extends the application of his work into the domain of fine motor skills.

Provincial origin of first-time writers of the Canadian Dental Aptitude Test.

A brief summary of the current status of the Canadian Dental Aptitude Test (CDAT) is presented. The number of first-time writers of the CDAT is reported by the province of their preference as designated by the candidate on the test application form. Anomalies in the numbers taking the test are discussed and relationships with other provincial and regional parameters developed. It is clear that the effect of the policy change at the University of Toronto, where the CDAT is no longer required for admissions purposes, has had a major effect on the numbers taking the test and the information available about the demographics, quality and size of the Canadian dental school applicant pool. The regional and provincial differences highlighted include a relatively smaller applicant pool in British Columbia, Manitoba and the Atlantic Provinces in addition to a relatively limited educational opportunity for potential dental professionals in British Columbia, Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces.

[Use of a mechanical variant of the Pauli test and the influence of several subjective and situational testing conditions]. / Untersuchungen zum Einsatz einer apparativen Pauli-Test-Variante und zum Einfluss einiger subjektiver und situativer Testleistungsbedingungen.

Comparative examinations of the paper and pencil form and a mechanical variation (using a performance testing unit) of Pauli's performance test, in which a total of 100 students were included, showed differences in the specific requirements of the two variants and in the performance rating of the test subjects. Consequently, their mutual substitution appears unjustifiable. It was not possible for effects of a number of situational test conditions upon performance results to be demonstrated for this test sample. Hypothesized relationships between the Pauli test performance, on the one hand, and proficiency motivation, attainments, and variational motivation, on the other, could be verified in part of the cases only.