What is a psychological or educational test?

A test is..
"an instrument or systematic procedure for measuring a sample of behavior."
(Gronlund, Norman E.. and Robert L. Linn. Measurement and evaluation in teaching. 6th ed. New York, Macmillan, 1990, p. 5.)

Psychological testing..
"deals with the development, validation, administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests. Psychological tests are defined as standardized, repeatable procedures used to elicit and measure samples of human behavior. ...Because testing involves measurement, tests have procedures for coding, scoring, or quantifying the behavior that is elicited so that it can be compared with normative data systematically collected on similar samples.

Testing is used to evaluate :
(1) human abilities, including intelligence, aptitudes, skills, and achievement in various areas;

(2) personality characteristics, which include traits, attitudes, interests, and values; and

(3) adjustment and mental health, which involves detecting signs and symptoms of psychological and neurological disorders and appraising the effectiveness of psychological functioning."

(Kazdin, Alan E. Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association, 2000, vol. 8, p. 47-48.)

Psychometric and Other Tests :

http://www.markparkinson.co.uk/psychometric_links.htm

There are many different types of test, usually designed by psychologists, which can provide additional information that helps form the employer's overall profile of you and, importantly, of how you may operate in their workplace.

Psychometric tests are most commonly timed tests, taken under examination conditions, and are another method used as part of the assessment process.

Psychometric tests are used to assess the candidate's abilities, personality, motivations, values and interests under standardised conditions, and to evaluate particular competencies exhibited by the candidate.
The exams we took at school tested what we had learnt. Psychometric tests are different in that they look at a number of different things. They are instruments used to find out about individual differences.
They might also be used to try and find out how "good" we are at a certain task compared with other groups of people
Recruitment tests usually assess one of two areas:

1. Ability: Old IQ tests claimed to give one number that expressed your intelligence. Nowadays you're liable to be assessed on specific areas: verbal, abstract, spatial and numerical intelligence. Jobs require different mixes of these: For example; people involved in structural engineering may tend to have a good ability to work with numbers and shapes.

2. Aptitude Tests
Aptitude (ability) tests are used to assess your numerical, verbal, comprehension and abstract or spatial reasoning skills. Sample computerised and paper tests are widely available – seek them out. Get your brain in gear by doing crosswords, number games and puzzles found in newspapers and magazines. Pay special attention to your weaker areas.

http://www.srma.co.yu/test.htm

http://www.markparkinson.co.uk/psychometric_links.htm

2. Personality: Good personality tests are tried out on thousands of people to build up profiles of the sorts of people who are successful in different jobs. There are never 'right' or 'wrong' answers in a personality test. In personality tests there are no 'right' answers and it's therefore not wise to try and second-guess them. From your answers to questions designed to reveal your interests and motivations (often involving the selection of preferences from available choices), psychologists develop a profile of you, which is then often matched with a profile of the person the employer is seeking.

http://www.personality100.com/...rreg.xml?sessionid=guest_false

Emotional Intelligence tools, usually in the form of a questionnaire, may be used in recruitment to identify candidates who possess a good level of 'emotional competency', and this form of psychometric testing is becoming a trend in assessment centres. Specifically, these tests assess our capacity to recognise and manage the emotions in ourselves and in our relationships, to use feelings to guide our thoughts and actions, and to motivate ourselves and others.

Emotional Intelligence is a general term used for our level of competence in our personal and interpersonal skills. In work environments research reveals that that mastery of these personal and interpersonal skills is the single most important determinant of our performance success. It is also a major determinant in how we feel, think and act. Emotional Intelligence will determine how well you know and manage yourself, how well you handle what happens to you and how well you interact and handle others.

Emotional intelligence includes a brad array of sub-skills including how we monitor our own and others feelings and emotions, how we discriminate and assess and how we use this knowledge to guide our thinking and actions. It includes assertiveness, impulse control, adaptability, motivation and optimism:

http://www.beyondtraining.com.au/Emotional_IQ.html