A mental alertness examination for the working age level

Abstract

The Viteles Mental Alertness Examination (T-100) was given to 392 pupils. Sixth- to eighth-grade public school children comprised 293 of the cases, and the remaining 99 were from a trade school for girls (median age 16-7). T-100 correlates with Otis Intermediate as a criterion to the extent of r = 0.796±0.0153 for 267 cases. Local city examinations and T-100 correlate 0.907±0.0140 (N = 72); and city and Otis correlate 0.715±0.0383 (N = 82). The reliability (odd vs. even) is r = 0.907±0.0069 for 293 cases and increases with higher grade. The total group contained 115 Italian and 118 Jewish children. The test differentiates reliably between the two groups in favor of the Jews. Neither age nor sex is a significant factor in performance; but for grade and performance r = 0.575±0.0273. The trade school girls, older and with more schooling, score higher than public school girls. The self-administering feature of T-100 makes it desirable in vocational guidance and employment office procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)