Evidence & Validation

The evidence behind MyAptitude

Built on decades of psychometric development and evaluation. Formerly the Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests, MyAptitude has been studied using substantial UK and Irish student samples and is designed specifically to support educational and career guidance.

Irish & UK norms Department-listed in Ireland Research-backed For post-primary guidance
A student completing the MyAptitude 3D spatial reasoning task
A student completing the 3D spatial reasoning task, one of MyAptitude’s eight ability measures.
8
Established aptitude measures: verbal, numerical, abstract and spatial reasoning, arithmetic, spelling, speed and accuracy
2,227
Irish students across 15 post-primary schools in the Irish norming study
2,000+
UK students in the original and follow-up technical evaluation samples
0.77–0.90
Internal-consistency reliability (coefficient alpha) across reported scales
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Recognised in Ireland

Official recognition

Included on the Irish Department of Education and Youth’s published list of psychometric assessments for post-primary guidance.

The Department’s documentation identifies MyAptitude as a post-primary ability and aptitude assessment with recognised Irish norms, and separately notes that many available tests do not have Irish norms.

“Currently included on this list is: My Aptitude (formerly Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests, 2012).”

Department of Education and Youth, Psychometric Assessment Committee (2025), on the list associated with Circular 0084/2024
2019
Departmental Circular lists “My Aptitude (formerly Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests, 2012)” under Ability and Aptitude Tests, records Irish norms and notes it can be used alongside EirQuest.
2025
The Department confirms in correspondence that MyAptitude is currently included on the list under Circular 0084/2024, following a routine re-evaluation.
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The psychometric evidence

Normed for students in Ireland and the UK

MyAptitude has been developed and evaluated using substantial student populations in both markets, so a student’s aptitude profile can be interpreted against an appropriate comparison group rather than a single international norm.

Ireland: a norming study across 15 post-primary schools and 2,227 pupils spanning the full ability range, with separate Irish norms where they differ from the UK.
UK: original 1999 trials and a later paper-and-online study, with separate year- and age-group norms.

Source: MyAptitude Test Manual (2017); Cambridge Profile evaluation summary.

Validity: the inferences hold up

Construct validity. A consistent four-factor structure emerged across every norming sample, with the expected pattern of correlations between aptitudes and student interests.
Criterion validity. Scores correlate significantly with GCSE, Junior Certificate and A-level results. Combined with teacher forecasts, the tests reach a multiple correlation of around 0.71 with academic attainment.
Independent study. A PhD thesis (Roberts, 2004) tracked medical students’ first-year exam performance and found several MyAptitude measures predictive.
Source: MyAptitude Test Manual (2017); Roberts (2004).

Developed to professional standards

The assessment was developed and technically evaluated under the leadership of Dr Charles Johnson, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and its assessments are registered with the British Psychological Society.

MyAptitude is a low-stakes guidance assessment: no selection decision rests on the scores, and results are intended to be administered and interpreted by suitably qualified staff, such as guidance counsellors.

Standard: BPS Psychological Testing Centre registration.
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Grounded in real educational practice

Independent evidence from Irish guidance practice

Independent academic research has documented the use of Cambridge Profile, now MyAptitude, within Irish post-primary career guidance. A 2019 University of Limerick MA study investigating career decision-making among senior-cycle students included Cambridge Profile among the career assessment exercises students reported using to explore their interests and aptitudes.

This is independent evidence of use in practice. It is not, and is not presented as, an independent psychometric validation of the assessment.

Source: Carney, R. (2019), An Investigation of the Career Decision Making Process of Senior Cycle Students in a Rural DEIS School, University of Limerick.

Aptitude is one part of the guidance conversation, but an important one.

MyAptitude provides an independent, objective measure of a student’s strengths that sits alongside their interests, teacher insight, academic performance and their own ambitions. It is designed to support professional guidance, not to replace it: results are most valuable when considered as part of a wider guidance conversation.

For guidance counsellors & school leaders

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