Differential Aptitude Tests Form L (DAT-L Namibia + DAT K Namibia ) – Norms for Namibia (2013) & (2007)

The need for culture-specific psychometric tests led to the Namibian Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare’s decision in 2012 to standardise the DAT-L for the Namibian context and requested. Mindmuzik Media to assist in this process. The standardisation was also done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Namibia.

 First, appropriate testing times for the DAT-L for Namibia were determined. The norms were established within this context.

A stratified random sample of 30 schools was drawn from schools with learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12. Regions with more learners had more schools in the sample, but steps were taken to ensure that each region had at least one school in the sample. In each school drawn in the sample, all learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 were tested. In several schools, the school marks in the previous examination were also obtained to calculate the correlation between the DAT-L tests and academic achievement.

 A total of 8 401 learners, representative of all the regions and Grades, were tested: Grade 12 (N=3 467), Grade 11 (N=2 306) and Grade 10 (N=2 628).

The project was successfully completed in 2013. As a result, the Namibian manual of the DAT-L contains complete information on all the aspects of sampling and norming. In addition, all the appropriate information on the reliability and validity of the DAT-L for Namibian learners can be found in the Namibian manual. This information will contribute to the confidence that the DAT-L can be used in counselling and selection in Namibia.

Differential Aptitude Tests Form K (DAT-K Namibia) –Norms for Namibia (2007)

Aptitude is one of the essential characteristics of the individual to be reckoned with in counselling and selection. The Differential Aptitude Tests Form K (DAT-K) was developed by the Human Sciences Research Council first released in 2000. The DAT-K contains nine aptitude tests and can provide a profile of relative strengths and weaknesses. The reference group was the South African school-going population in Grades 10, 11 and 12.

Namibian government departments saw that the DAT-K could be an invaluable instrument for them if they could have Namibian norms. Therefore, in 2006 the Namibian Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare requested Mindmuzik Media as distributor of HSRC tests to assist them in standardising the DAT-K for Namibia. The standardisation was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Namibia.

 First appropriate testing times were determined. Then a representative sample of 8 334 learners from across Namibia was assessed with the DAT-K to determine norms. The sample was planned in such a way that, in addition to a global Namibian norm, norms could be produced for the following subpopulations of interest:

•   Learners in rural Namibian schools
•   Learners in urban Namibian schools

The project was successfully completed in 2007, and in November 2007, the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Alpheus Naruseb, officially launched the new norms and the Namibian manual. The Namibian manual of the DAT-K contains complete information on all the aspects of sampling and norming. In addition, appropriate information on the reliability and validity of the DAT-K for Namibian learners can also be found in the Namibian manual. The information available in this manual will contribute to the confidence that the DAT-K can be used in counselling and selection in Namibia.