From the history of Career Aptitude Tests in the USA

Under strategic course of Ukraine towards European integration and the reorganization of the educational system aimed at creating a common European Higher Education Zone, the use of progressive methods for determining professional suitability is growing. One of these methods is testing, which is most effectively used in the USA. It should be noted that there is no unified procedure for conducting tests to determine professional suitability in Ukraine, therefore, the study of the progressive experience of the United States is of great importance. The purpose of our research is the critical analysis of the history of career aptitude tests in the United States until the end of the twentieth century. According to the objectives of the research, we used general scientific and special research methods, namely: methods of critical analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, analogy and historical ones. According to historians, the first known test was the test to determine intellectual abilities, though it was significantly different from modern tests. The history of professional aptitude testing officially began with the tests created by Francis Galton at the beginning of the 19th century. In the mid-1930s, the US Employment Service commissioned research to determine people's abilities. The study created more than 100 tests for the most common types of employment. The study allows us to conclude that career aptitude testing in the USA was used by both entrepreneurs and educational institutions quite spontaneously, since there were no unified rules for conducting such tests, and the norms for evaluating results. Successful implementation of standardized tests cannot be the only indicator in determining the suitability of a person for a certain professional activity, it should be accompanied by other selection methods. It is necessary to study the activities of organizations that have the authority and function like the College Entrance Examination Board, the purpose of which is to select and attract young people to professional activities immediately after graduation from high schools.