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
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Established aptitude measures: verbal, numerical, abstract and spatial reasoning, arithmetic, spelling, speed and accuracy
Irish
norms from a study across Irish post-primary schools
UK
norms from the original and follow-up technical evaluation samples
Reliable
internal consistency above the accepted threshold on every reported scale
Layer 1
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.
“My Aptitude (formerly Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests) 2017”
Department of Education and Youth, list of assessment instruments per Circular 0023/2026 (2026)
2019
Departmental Circular lists “My Aptitude (formerly Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests, 2012)” under Ability and Aptitude Tests and records Irish norms.
2025
The Department confirms in correspondence that MyAptitude is included on the list under Circular 0084/2024, following a routine re-evaluation.
2026
The list under Circular 0023/2026 includes “My Aptitude (formerly Cambridge Profile Aptitude Tests) 2017” as a digital ability and aptitude battery for students aged 14 to 18, with Irish and UK norms, given by trained administrators such as guidance counsellors.
Layer 2
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 post-primary schools 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.
Reliability. Every reported scale is above the accepted threshold for internal consistency (a coefficient alpha of 0.70). The scale-by-scale results are in the technical evaluation, which we send on request.
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.
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.
Layer 3
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
Request the technical evaluation
We’ll send the full evidence pack, including norming samples, reliability and validity data, and the psychometric background, for your assessment or procurement review.
Try a free practice assessment: verbal reasoning practice assessment, numerical reasoning practice assessment, abstract reasoning practice assessment, spatial reasoning (2D) practice assessment, spatial reasoning (3D) practice assessment, arithmetic calculation practice assessment, spelling practice assessment, working quickly and accurately practice assessment. See all of them on the free practice assessments page.