Measuring human abilities

Abstract

The identification and measurement of human abilities is closely bound up with the study of individual differences, something that seems to be terribly important to us. The use of tests in pursuit of this study has grown enormously over the course of the twentieth century and was busier than ever during the 1980s (Anastasi, 1990). But like so many of the issues dealt with in this book it is not a new concern. The Chinese civil service made extensive use of testing over three thousand years ago, and it was used by the ancient Greeks as part of their educational system.