The cover of The Test Book reads with a line that evokes memories of the Cold War television and radio of my youth: “This is a test.” It isn’t a test of the Emergency Broadcast System but the way one picks up the little book known as The Test Book is a test of left-right dominance. But that’s just a teaser. The Test Book has at least 65 tests (not counting the fact that the intelligence instrument used in the book is a battery of several different test instruments presented over multiple pages). The book starts out with a little explanation about what a test is and has a short history of tests going back to ordeals and oracles in the ancient world.
Each test instrument is introduced with a question such as “How Do I Learn?” or “How is My Work-Life Balance?” It explains what the test is trying to measure and then presents the test instrument (usually on the right-hand page after the introduction on the left-hand page). Now, I am always cautious to tell people that any test instrument I might use isn’t the only possible approach and the editors of The Test Book do so as well. They do not suggest, as I try to when I use any psychological instrument, that the measurement reflects your feelings/state-of-mind at the time and may not be reflective of your tendencies, feelings, and perceptions at all times. I certainly appreciate the editors taking the time to indicate that their battery of intelligence tests is not decisive, merely potentially informative.
For me, the most surprising result of a test was when I took the Lateralization Test (#32 – “Which side of my brain do I think with?) and discovered that I am apparently more right-dominant than I realized. However, the editors are very careful to indicate that this dominance factor does not simply identify analytical versus creative (as per popular belief) but more accurately suggests detail-oriented versus big picture tendencies (p. 74). The least valuable test instrument to me was the determinant of perpetrator vs. victim status (#47). Unfortunately, this questionnaire is overtly designed to establish victimhood and doesn’t really address those who are the perpetrators of stereotypes and discrimination. And, while I appreciated the direction the questionnaire on work-life balance (#42) takes one, the focus questions may cause ADHD sufferers to have a false positive as it were on potential balance issues. Again, though, the editors merely suggest that those at a certain threshold of answers seek counsel; they do not definitively assert that there is a problem. And yes, the test of concentration (#31) called the d2 test definitely demonstrated my attention deficit problem.
I was intrigued by the measure of self-motivation (#39). Before answering this series of questions, I would have said that I was in the highest percentile of self-motivated individuals. My results aren’t bad, but they don’t support my prejudice. Part of the problem may be in the definition of goals or objectives. I rarely write them down, but I have them. I rated myself somewhat lower because I don’t formalize them. The VARK test (#30 – How do I learn best?), however, gave me similar results to any other VARK (Visual, Auditory, Reading-Writing, and Kinesthetic) instrument I’ve used with classes and seminars.
I picked up The Test Book mostly out of curiosity and a sense of fun, but I plan to use some of the instruments with some of the small groups I lead. This is a pocket-sized book that offers plenty of punch.