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Programmer Analyst Aptitude Test - 2-hour version
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Author:
Bruce A. Winrow |
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Date
introduced: 1990 |
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Administration
time: 2 hours |
Purpose
This test is for both entry-level and
experienced candidates. To evaluate the person's aptitude and potential for programming
and analyzing business problems. This test assumes no prior experience or knowledge of
data processing.
General
Description
Basic Version - a two-hour
test which consists of technical measures only. It has six problems which evaluate the
candidate's logical ability, skill in interpretation of business specifications, and
potential for translating business problems into symbolic logic. The first four problems
are intended to evaluate the individual's logical skill and overall programming aptitude.
The last two are designed to test the person's ability to follow complex business
procedures and analyze them to supply specific requirements. As well, the candidate must
create symbolic instructions to represent a common business procedure and then analyze
these instructions for errors.
Comprehensive Version -
consists of the basic version plus an in-depth selection of measures of behavioral traits
and interpersonal skills.
Positions
for which the test is appropriate
This test is used to pre-screen job
applicants and in-house personnel for their computer programming aptitudes and business
analysis potentials.
Job
criteria measured
| Logical Ability: two of the problems require
the candidate to provide results based on his/her ability to reason with symbols |
| Ability to interpret and understand complex
business procedures. |
| Interpretation of Intricate Specifications:
one question in particular determines the candidate's ability to correctly interpret very
succinct requirements, without further explanation |
| Ability to Follow Instructions Precisely: one
problem can be successfully answered only if the candidate is very exact in following
instructions |
| Accuracy: three of the problems require the
candidate to accurately translate an answer from symbolic to numeric or symbolic to
graphic. |
| Problem Solving Using Reasoning with Symbols:
the most difficult problem on the test requires the candidate to utilize reasoning with
symbols to reach a conclusion |
| Ability to translate business solutions into
symbolic logic |
Test
administration
The
administration of this test is simple. The test takes 2 hours to
complete. The applicant should be given the test booklet, and told that
all instructions are stated in the test booklet. The room for the test
should be a relatively quiet one preferably without a telephone that
might ring during the test. The candidate must not communicate with any
person during the test, or be given the opportunity to make a photocopy
of the test. All work should be done in the test booklet, in pencil.
Please do not provide scrap paper.
Sample
question (segment)
| Name |
previous
balance |
purchases |
payments |
subject
to
finance
charge |
interest |
new
balance |
| A.B.
BRONSON |
500.00 |
125.00 |
50.00 |
575.00 |
5.75 |
580.75 |
| C.L.
DAVIS |
475.00 |
25.00 |
30.00 |
470.00 |
4.70 |
474.70 |
| R.C.
ISAAC |
450.00 |
100.00 |
50.00 |
500.00 |
5.00 |
505.00 |
| S.P.
WINROW |
105.00 |
25.00 |
30.00 |
100.00 |
1.50 |
101.50 |
TOTAL
CUSTOMERS: 4
TOTAL NEW BALANCE: $1,661.95
The amount subject to a finance charge is obtained by adding the purchases
to the previous balance and subtracting the payments. If the amount
subject to a finance charge is $250.00 or more, interest must be
calculated by multiplying the amount by 1%. If the amount subject to a
finance charge is less than $250.00, interest is calculated by multiplying
the amount by 1.5%. The new balance is obtained by adding the interest to
the amount subject to a finance charge. After all the index cards have
been processed, the total customers and the total of the new balances are
printed. |
Sample Candidate Evaluation Report
Click here to view a sample detailed evaluation report.
Evaluation
The overall rating
is based on scores according to the following table:
| Score |
Overall
Rating |
Likelihood
for Success |
| 80-100% |
Strongly
Recommended |
We strongly recommend this
individual as having the potential for a successful career as a programmer analyst. |
| 65-79% |
Recommended |
We recommend this individual for
a career as a programmer analyst provided further supervised training is supplied. |
| 58-64% |
Recommended for
Limited Use |
We recommend this individual for
a career as a programmer analyst only if highly motivated, and if an intensive, well
supervised training course is available. |
| 0-57% |
Not Recommended |
We DO NOT recommend this
individual for a career as a programmer analyst. |
Validation Information
January
1998:
Based
on the job description submitted by BCP Bank Card Processing Worldwide
Corp., the Programmer Analyst must accomplish fourteen essential functions
to successfully perform his/her job responsibilities. A total of 56 traits
were judged to be essential to accomplishing these tasks. Of these 56
skills, 36 are assessed by one or more questions in the Programmer Analyst
Aptitude Test (PAAT). Thus, a significant portion (64.3%) of the intended
domain is assessed by the PAAT. As well, if the relative importance of the
essential traits tested, to the ''weighted'' importance of the task, is
considered - the overlap percentage improves to 69.3%.
April
1998:
A
statistically significant relationship exists between the PAAT and job
success. The correlation coefficient (r = 0.457) is significant to the
0.01 level and indicates that the PAAT is highly predictive of on-the-job
success for the programmer analyst position. This conclusion was
based on a study that compared the supervisory ratings of 63 application
programmers whose performance was compared against their initial PAAT
scores.
June, 1999: This
report presents a study of the reliability of the widely used test; the
Programmer Analyst Aptitude Test. Reliability is a measure of the consistency of
the instrument. If all external factors could be eliminated, test scores should
generate "normative data" (i.e., mean mode, standard deviation) that
is consistent regardless of population location. The
conclusion is that there is no significant difference between population test
scores according to geographic location. This
conclusion was based on a study that compared the test scores of
4,165application programmers in four geographical areas: Southeast (US), Midwest
(US), Northwest (US), and Canada.
Languages
published
| English |
| French |
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