Student answering a MyAptitude Abstract Reasoning question on a laptop at a desk

MyAptitude

Aptitude tests for Irish students

Formerly the Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests

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MyAptitude is a set of eight psychometric aptitude tests developed with occupational psychologist Dr Charles Johnson. It is included on the Irish Department of Education and Youth’s published list of psychometric assessments for post-primary guidance, is normed for Irish students and is backed by published reliability and validity evidence. It gives students valuable insights into the work and careers suited to their abilities. And it helps guidance counsellors understand students’ academic potential so they can better advise on Leaving Cert subjects and next steps. Students can take the tests, and read their report, in Irish or English.

How does it work?

Allow about 90 minutes for the standard MyAptitude. Its 8 tests take 70 minutes, plus short pauses between tests. Optional Verbal Reasoning II test: 7 minutes, still within about 90 minutes.

Verbal Reasoning

Numerical Reasoning

Abstract Reasoning

2D Spatial Reasoning

3D Spatial Reasoning

Arithmetic Calculation

Working Quickly and Accurately

Spelling

Verbal Reasoning II

(Optional)

*Available in 22 languages, including Irish, French, German, Chinese and Spanish

Provides staff with an added means of assessment when matching students with a career area or job.
Allows staff to accurately assess academic potential, for example when a student is moving into TY or Senior Cycle.
Because the test is timed it gives an indication of the rate at which a student can work.
Gives staff an accurate gauge of how well newly arrived foreign students will be able to learn in English.
Reveals a student’s aptitude when working in their first language compared with English.
For foreign students thinking of studying in Ireland, or newly arrived, we offer Verbal Reasoning in Arabic, Chinese – Simplified, Chinese – Traditional, Dutch, English (UK), Welsh, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
Can be integrated with EirQuest and MyUniChoices, which we recommend for maximum benefits.
Smiling member of staff holding a blue folder, with colleagues talking at tables behind her

For Staff

Smiling student in a blue school jumper talking with someone across a table

For Students

Revealing their strengths and weaknesses gives students new insights and can provide a valuable morale boost.
Combining MyAptitude with EirQuest lets students match their aptitudes with the career areas they are considering, giving them deeper insight for Leaving Cert subject choice.
Personalised careers report available online or as a downloadable pdf.
Results are shown as percentile scores, comparing each student with Irish norms for students of their age. Speed and accuracy scores are shown alongside.

Validation

Chartered Occupational Psychologist Dr Charles Johnson has analysed MyAptitude results against the academic results of large student populations, including students in Ireland, to verify their effectiveness and accuracy.

For those who would like more in-depth information on the tests, a report on the technical evaluation is available on request. Read more on MyFutureChoice’s assessment philosophy here.

Dr Charles Johnson, Chartered Occupational Psychologist
MyAptitude report radar chart showing a sample student's percentile scores across seven test areas
From a sample MyAptitude student report: Percentile vs Peers

The report

Understanding aptitude test results

Every student gets a personal report, online and as a PDF. It opens with a radar chart, Percentile vs Peers, so the shape of their strengths is clear at a glance. A results table then gives three measures for each test area:

PercentileHow the result compares with others of the same age. The 60th percentile means they did better than 60 out of every 100 students in Ireland. Percentiles include a standard confidence range, so small differences are not significant.

SpeedHow many questions they attempted within the time limit.

AccuracyHow many of those they got right.

The report explains each result in words and gives examples of careers linked to the areas where the student scored highest. The 2D and 3D spatial tests give one combined Spatial Reasoning score, so there are seven test areas.

Part of a MyAptitude results table showing speed, accuracy and percentile for four test areas
The results table: speed, accuracy and a percentile with its confidence range for each test area

Students can take the tests, and read their report, in Irish or English.

Free practice

Free aptitude practice tests

Want to see what the tests are like first? Each practice test is a short, timed version of a MyAptitude test with a few example questions. They are free, and you don’t need to register.

Verbal ReasoningUnderstanding and reasoning with written informationTry it →Numerical ReasoningSolving problems with numbers, tables and graphsTry it →Abstract ReasoningSpotting patterns and rules in shapesTry it →Spatial Reasoning (2D)Turning flat shapes in your mindTry it →Spatial Reasoning (3D)Picturing how a flat net folds into a solidTry it →Arithmetic CalculationQuick, accurate number workTry it →Working Quickly and AccuratelyChecking information fast without mistakesTry it →SpellingSpotting correct and incorrect spellingsTry it →

See all the practice tests

Practice tests are not scored against other students. The full MyAptitude assessment, taken through your school, gives percentile results and a report.

Aptitude test, career interest test or personality test?

An aptitude test measures how well you can do certain kinds of thinking, such as reasoning with words, numbers, shapes and patterns, under timed conditions. The questions have right and wrong answers, so the results show relative strengths rather than what someone likes doing.

MyAptitude

Aptitude test

Measures abilities such as reasoning, with right and wrong answers. It shows what a student does well.

EirQuest

Career interest test

Asks what a student likes and dislikes, to suggest careers that match their interests.

EirQuest is our careers programme for Irish students. It matches interests to career areas and the Leaving Certificate subjects that lead to them.

Not used

Personality test

Describes how someone tends to behave, think or feel. We don’t use personality tests: young people are still developing, and every career needs a mix of personalities.

Taken together, MyAptitude and EirQuest let students compare what they enjoy with what they do well, and see the career areas where the two meet.

When to test: 3rd Year or TY

The right time to test is before students choose their Leaving Cert subjects. In most schools that means 3rd Year or Transition Year.

3rd Year

Suits schools where students choose senior cycle subjects before, or without, Transition Year.

TY

Gives more time to test, talk through the results and research careers before subject choice. See our Transition Year careers programme.

Using results with EirQuest for subject choice

Aptitude is one part of the guidance conversation, but an important one. EirQuest adds the other part: a student’s interests. Together they lay the ground for Leaving Cert subject choices that meet the entry requirements of likely careers and courses.

Entry requirements matter

Many CAO courses name specific subjects and grades. For example, UCD Engineering (DN150) on Qualifax lists H4 in Mathematics and H6 in a laboratory science. A student drawn to engineering with strong numerical and spatial results has a good reason to keep Maths and a science. Requirements change, so always check the current year on cao.ie or Qualifax.

How accurate is an aptitude test?

No test can tell a student which career to choose, and a good aptitude test should say how reliable it is and what it is compared against. For MyAptitude:

  • Department of Education and YouthIncluded on the published list of psychometric assessments for post-primary guidance (Circular 0023/2026).
  • British Psychological SocietyMyAptitude is registered with the British Psychological Society.
  • Irish normsStudents are compared with students in Ireland, not with a UK or international group.
  • ReliabilityAbove the accepted threshold on every scale. Full figures are in the technical evaluation, on request.
  • ValidityResults correlate with Junior Certificate results.
  • Occupational psychologistDeveloped and evaluated under Dr Charles Johnson, Chartered Occupational Psychologist.

Use the results as one piece of evidence, discussed with the guidance counsellor, not as a final answer. Read the evidence behind MyAptitude

Good practice for schools

Circular 0023/2026 sets out how schools should use tests like MyAptitude. In short:

  • Tell parents and students what the test is for, and get parents’ consent for students under 18 before testing.
  • Make sure the test is given and explained by appropriately trained staff. The Department’s list names careers practitioners, guidance counsellors and psychologists for MyAptitude.
  • Give students and parents clear, timely feedback, including the limits of the results.
  • Take care with students learning English as an additional language, whose scores may be affected by their English.

For parents

Your child’s results are compared with appropriate norm groups and are intended to support, not replace, professional guidance. An aptitude test is not a pass or fail. It shows where your child’s strengths lie today, so you can talk about subjects and careers with more confidence.

Ask your guidance counsellor about EirQuest and MyAptitude.

Support is part of the assessment

Extra time, chosen section by section

MyAptitude includes display choices and optional extra time to support participation by students with additional educational needs (AEN), including students with special educational needs, alongside the guidance counsellor’s individual guidance.

MyAptitude

Optional 25% extra time

Students choose the support they need: 25% extra time in each section, chosen separately for each section rather than for the whole assessment.

MyAptitude

Display settings

Customisable fonts, a high contrast mode, a colourblind option and an optional dyslexia font give students several ways to change how the tests appear.

These are settings within the programmes. They are not a diagnosis, and choosing extra time in MyAptitude does not give a student extra time in school or public examinations.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Discover how we support guidance counsellors so that every student can make better decisions on their own career journey. Download our full MyFutureChoice programme overview and see how we can help you.

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Programme Features

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How we support staff

Accurately interpreting results is key. As well as technical manuals and handbooks to accompany testing, we give guidance counsellors training and support so they can interpret the results and talk them through with each student one-to-one.

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