The Achiever measures six Mental Aptitudes:Mental Acuity, Business Terms, Memory Recall, Vocabulary, Numerical Perception and Mechanical Interest. When reading the "X" pattern scored by the respondent, it is important to bear in mind the job in question. For example, a low score in Mental Acuity can be desirable when a person is being considered for a routine job that can be boring in nature. A high score is critical for a professional or an executive who must be capable of solving complicated and complex problems and dealing with other individuals who are "fast thinkers."
Further, if the job does not require a knowledge of business terminology or the ability to communicate well in written or oral forms, then the Business Terms and Vocabulary scores may be disregarded. In other words, do not consider these scores as pertinent unless they are job related. Likewise, the Memory Recall, Numerical Perception and Mechanical Interest measurements are important only when they are critical for success in the position being evaluated.
In short, the Mental Aptitude scores as a pattern must be compared to the job description and requirements, utilizing those aptitudes that are job related and disregarding those that are not. Ideally, you will be comparing the scores of the applicant to the benchmarked job standards of successful people.
Mental Acuity
The Mental Acuity aptitude of The Achiever is designed to measure judgment, learning speed and reasoning ability. The latter is a composite substructure encompassing practical reasoning, deductive reasoning, syllogistic reasoning and reasoning when reading.
Low scores, stanines 1-3, are representative of individuals who learn slowly. On the whole, they do not read quickly and they learn more effectively through repetitive processes, requiring the opportunity to take notes, read things twice and review their notes. They deal adequately with concrete data when they have the time to input and encode it in small, manageable amounts. They require more specifics and guidelines in a job situation. A low score also indicates that the hiring company cannot reasonably expect the applicant to engage in personal self-improvement projects involving school or study. Generally, an individual scoring at this level is well adapted to a position which provides a high concentration of routine and structured work. Normally, low scorers do not react well in supervisory or managerial situations, especially when they have to sell, manage or supervise people who are more mentally alert than they are. They are not adept at solving complicated problems and, generally, find it difficult to cope with emergency or high pressure situations.
Persons scoring in the 4 through 6 stanine range normally have average problem solving and deductive reasoning ability. Individuals at this level continue to learn and obtain information most efficiently through repetitive processes, especially if the data is of a more complex nature.