Aptitude, Achievement & Intelligence Scores
Education, Training & Achievement Scores
Aptitude, Achievement & Intelligence Scores
High School Survey
During April through October 1980, a separate survey was conducted of U.S. high schools attended by civilian NLSY79 respondents. This school survey obtained information about the characteristics of each school. It also gathered respondent-specific information that included scores from various intelligence and aptitude tests administered during the respondents' schooling.
Data are available for tests such as the:
- California Test of Mental Maturity
- Differential Aptitude Test
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
A variety of other tests are available including college entrance examinations such as the:
- Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)
- Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
- American College Test (ACT)
The following types of information are available for each test taken:
- IQ score
- national percentile score
- date (month/year) the test was administered
- student's grade level at the time of testing
A modest number (1,058 or 9.1 percent) of civilian NLSY79 respondents has one or more such scores available from the high school survey; additional scores may be available from the transcript survey.
Transcript Surveys
High school transcript information was collected during 1980, 1981, and 1983 for those civilian respondents who were expected to complete high school in the United States. While the focus of these surveys was course and grade information, math and verbal scores from the PSAT, the SAT, and the ACT were also collected. One or more (sub)scores for at least one test are available for 2,434 (21.3 percent) of civilian NLSY79 respondents. Additional information, including references to technical reports on these surveys, can be found in the School & Transcript Surveys section of this guide.
Table 1 provides an alphabetical listing of the tests from the high school, and transcript surveys and the number of respondents for whom scores are available.
Table 1. Aptitude & Intelligence Tests: NLSY79 School Survey and Transcript Survey Testing
Intelligence Test | Reference Number | Area of interest | Number of Respondents with Scores |
American College Test (ACT) | R06201. R06202. R00173.86=9 R00173.92=9 |
Misc. 1981 Misc. 1981 School Survey School Survey |
1,127 1,124 72 17 |
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) (Profiles) |
R06150.-R06159. R00173.86=6 R00173.92=6 |
Profiles School Survey School Survey |
11,914 16 3 |
California Achievement Test | R00173.86=14 R00173.92=14 |
School Survey School Survey |
71 17 |
California SFTAA | R00173.86=1 R00173.92=1 |
School Survey School Survey |
203 14 |
California Test of Mental Maturity | R00173.11 | School Survey | 599 |
California Test of Basic Skills | R00173.86=11 R00173.92=11 |
School Survey School Survey |
172 27 |
Cognitive Abilities Test | R00173.86=5 R00173.92=5 |
School Survey School Survey |
59 28 |
Coop School &College Ability Test | R00173.41 | School Survey | 164 |
Differential Aptitude Test | R00173.36 | School Survey | 569 |
General Aptitude Test Battery | R00173.86=16 R00173.92=16 |
School Survey School Survey |
27 1 |
Henmon-Nelson Test of Mental Maturity | R00173.26 | School Survey | 201 |
Iowa Test of Basic Skills | R00173.86=12 R00173.92=12 |
School Survey School Survey |
75 7 |
Iowa Test of Educational Development | R00173.86=13 R00173.92=13 |
School Survey School Survey |
53 9 |
Kuhlman-Anderson Intelligence Test | R00173.31 | School Survey | 176 |
Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test | R00173.21 | School Survey | 691 |
National Educational Development | R00173.86=10 R00173.92=10 |
School Survey School Survey |
22 1 |
Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test | R00173.16 | School Survey | 1,191 |
Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Battery (PSAT) | R06197. R06198. R00173.86=3 R00173.92=3 |
Misc. 1981 Misc. 1981 School Survey School Survey |
1,386 1,386 77 41 |
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) | R06199. R06200. R00173.86=2 R00173.92=2 |
Misc. 1981 Misc. 1981 School Survey School Survey |
951 948 41 16 |
SRA Assessment Survey | R00173.86=20 R00173.92=20 |
School Survey School Survey |
32 2 |
SRA - Primary Mental Abilities | R00173.86=4 R00173.92=4 |
School Survey School Survey |
40 2 |
Stanford Achievement Test | R00173.86=17 R00173.92=17 |
School Survey School Survey |
40 2 |
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale | R00173.46 | School Survey | 101 |
Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP) | R00173.86=18 R00173.92=18 |
School Survey School Survey |
0 0 |
STS High School Placement Test | R00173.86=15 R00173.92=15 |
School Survey School Survey |
64 3 |
Terman-McNemar Tests | R00173.86=8 R00173.92=8 |
School Survey School Survey |
1 0 |
Tests of Academic Promise | R00173.86=7 R00173.92=7 |
School Survey School Survey |
13 1 |
Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children | R00173.51 | School Survey | 120 |
References
National Center for Research in Vocational Education and Center for Human Resource Research. NLSY High School Transcript Survey: Overview and Documentation. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University.
Parnes, Herbert S. and Kohen, Andrew I. "Occupational Information and Labor Market Status: The Case of Young Men." Journal of Human Resources. 10 (1): 44-55, 1975.
Parnes, Herbert S., Miljus, Robert C. and Spitz, Ruth S. Career Thresholds: A Longitudinal Study of the Educational and Labor Market Experience of Male Youth. Vol. I. U.S. Department of Labor Manpower Research Monograph No. 16. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.
Knowledge of the World of Work
One assessment, an abbreviated version of the "Knowledge of the World of Work" scale, was directly administered to the young men and women of the NLSY79 in 1979. This set of questions (R00260.-R00268.) asks respondents to pick one of three statements that best describes the duties of each of 10 commonly held jobs. A total score can be calculated by awarding one point for each correct answer (Kohen and Breinich, 1975; Parnes and Kohen, 1975; Parnes, et al., 1970).
This question has an age restriction in that all respondents were asked questions concerning their thoughts on certain kinds of jobs that people actually do. Respondents who were 14-15 years old were skipped out at Q.2.
Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: Extensive information on the cognitive development of children born to female respondents of the NLSY79 is available. The NLSY97 collected three specific achievement tests reported by the respondent--the SAT I, American College Test (ACT), and Advanced Placement (AP) test. Achievement test scores were collected during special transcript or school surveys for the Young Women, and the Young Men. Available scores for respondents in the Young Men's and Young Women's cohorts are primarily from the California Test of Maturity and the Otis/Beta/Gamma; a few respondents have SAT I or ACT scores recorded, and a wide variety of other tests are also included.
From the summer of 1997 through the spring of 1998, most NLSY97 round 1 respondents participated in the administration of the computer-adaptive form of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (CAT-ASVAB). AFQT scores were generated by NLS staff for the NLSY97 and can be used comparatively with the NLSY79 AFQT-3 scores. NLSY97 respondents were also administered The Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT). For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.
Survey Instruments and Documentation | ASVAB Test questions from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery are not available to the public.
High School Survey Copies of the high school survey and transcript survey instruments can be found within NLSY High School Transcript Survey: Overview and Documentation, which contains background information on the sample design and field work of these special surveys, a summary of the types of variables collected, and coding information. |
Areas of Interest | ASVAB ASVAB variables collected during the 1980 Profiles testing are located on the NLSY79 main data set within the "Profiles" area of interest (R06150.-R06183.). The NLSY79 documentation item Attachment 106: Profile of American Youth provides general and technical information on the Profiles testing and an annotated bibliography of related publications. An addendum discusses the creation of AFQT-1, AFQT-2, and AFQT-3.
High School Survey and Transcript Survey Variables collected during the High School Survey are located on the main NLSY79 data set within the "School Survey" area of interest (R00173.11-R00173.97). Test scores from the Transcript Surveys are located on the main NLSY79 data set within the "Transcript Survey" area of interest (R06197.-R06202.) Knowledge of the World of Work These questions are found in the "Attitude" area of interest. |