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10. How does abilities assessment help in the choice between a liberal arts college and an engineering school? A student who knows his or her own strengths is miles ahead of a student who doesn’t. Several of the abilities measured on the Highlands Ability Battery form patterns which indicate whether a student will be happier in liberal arts or in engineering. An engineer should ideally be strong in Idea Productivity, analytical thinking, spatial visualization, observation and Design Memory.

Although Time Frame is important in long-term construction projects, there are tools which will help a person who has a short time frame to adjust to long-term projects. The ideal pre-law student may also be high in Idea Productivity, but he will probably also score in the higher percentiles in diagnostic thinking, in spatial theory, and in Time Frame. High scores in Vocabulary also suggest success in law practice, as they do for executives and entrepreneurs.

11. What new qualities or insights does an ability assessment provide that are not reflected in a student’s grades or the standardized test scores? Grades and standardized test scores represent a convenient means by which the colleges measure and qualify students. However, they are more representative of skills and level of learning than of true abilities. Educators are not generally pleased that they are limited to this means. Many of them would prefer a test that separates and identifies students on the basis of their innate abilities. They know that the present concentration on grades is disadvantageous to minorities and the underprivileged. Certainly, the concentration on grades and achievement ignores the role of natural abilities in education. How can we identify the next Mozart or the next Einstein without testing for innate abilities?

12. My child is a good overall student but she feels that she has no special talents. Would an ability assessment help her get a better sense of direction? Yes. Abilities assessment is of special importance to “good overall students” without identifiable “special talents.” Why? Because these students know very little about themselves that will matter to them in college and work. An abilities assessment will go far in telling them such things as how they solve problems, how they learn best, what work environment is right for them, whether they have measurable musical talent, and how they relate to and are perceived by others. The experience of completing the Battery and discussing the results with a Certified Student Counselor will do more to impress them with how “special” they are than any anything else. Students will be able to describe their strengths to others once they understand them and their significance to study and career.

13. Do you feel that an abilities assessment is an important investment for parents of a college-bound student? Yes. At very little cost relative to the cost of special training for the SAT or ACT, your student will get enormous insight into the courses and career he or she should pursue. We are confident, for example, that we can identify students who will be happy as surgeons and distinguish them from students who will enjoy a career in teaching.

14. My son has a difficult time absorbing knowledge through reading but is an active listener who loves to debate ideas. Will an abilities assessment help him to study and learn? Yes. One of the strengths of the Highlands Ability Battery is that it tests the five prime learning channels - verbal memory, tonal memory, design memory, number memory and rhythm memory. If your son has difficulty learning by reading, he can turn to his strengths as an active listener and debater, and concentrate on learning by listening and reacting to the spoken voice. He should attend lectures and listen to books on tape. In the report which follows the Battery, we include a chart showing the student’s relative strength in all five learning channels. Your son’s score in the Tonal Memory worksample should be relatively high.