General Aptitude Tests Battery
(GATB)Mihai JIG ĂU
Institute of Educational Sciences, BucharestHistory
The general aptitude test battery was created in the United States in the 1940s and it is a
reliable instrument with a good performance predictability regarding the future work
activities that is latent professional aptitudes. Following a statistical analysis of the data
obtained from over 100 tests targeting various occupational clusters, 11 paper-pencil and
4 machine-operated tests were selected for measuring best the ten aptitude-related factors
significant in the development of any professional activity. These tests formed the first
edition of GATB (General Aptitudes Test Battery), coded B-1001. Later, the contents of
GATB were improved and the battery of tests named B-1002 got to measure nine general
aptitudes through 12 tests: 8 paper-pencil and 4 machines-operated. This final form is
currently in use.
Theoretical background
According to the authors, the word ability is defined as what a person knows or can
effectively do. Abilities are considered to have two basic components: acquisitions (what
a person has learned to do) and aptitudes (what a person has potential to do in the future).
Certainly, it is difficult to make the distinction, since whatever has been gained