PST - Cognitive Tests

Word Knowledge

Vocabulary tests have been found to be amongst the best indices of scholastic ability and accumulated learning. Word knowledge is used as a medium of assessment for personnel selection because this skill is usually a practical requirement in employment, education and training.

The Word Knowledge scale is a 4-minute timed abilities test that consists of 15 words that encompass education and reading from a number of subject areas. The candidate’s literacy skills are measured by their ability to read, interpret, understand and define the terms in a number of contexts.

As this scale assesses aspects of verbal ability and cultural knowledge, some groups from backgrounds with a language other than English may be disadvantaged and administrators wishing to use this scale are advised to bear this in mind when assessing multi-cultural groups.

Numeracy

Numeracy relates to the mastery of mathematical operations and basic problem solving and is also a good index of general reasoning ability.

This scale is a 20-minute timed test that consists of 20 computation questions. Decimals, fractions, numbers and measures are used to assess the candidate’s ability to perform mathematical operations accurately. The level of difficulty used in the scale ranges from junior to middle secondary school level. Candidates are not permitted to use calculators or other technical aides to assist them in this test.

The Numeracy scale is not prone to cultural bias and it will reflect exposure to mathematics. Applicants from financial, scientific, technical and engineering backgrounds will generally perform better on this scale than those from humanities backgrounds.

Spatial Awareness

Spatial Awareness is a non-verbal and abstract reasoning measure. It focuses on shape analysis, attention to detail and perception. It is a practical choice test that involves the abilities to think visually and to perceive details such as similarities and differences.

This 15-minute timed test consists of 15 shapes that are made up of two or more pieces. The candidate is required to arrange the shapes, and move them around in their thoughts in order to construct a final figure.