Aptitude tests are standardized instruments assessing specific cognitive, perceptual, or physical skills. Aptitude test, examination that attempts to determine and measure a person’s ability to acquire, through future training, some specific set of skills (intellectual, motor, and so on). The tests assume that people differ in their special abilities and that these differences can be useful in predicting future achievements.

General, or multiple, aptitude tests are similar to intelligence tests in that they measure a broad spectrum of abilities (e.g., verbal comprehension, general reasoning, numerical operations, perceptual speed, or mechanical knowledge).