Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Can a standardised aptitude test predict the training success of apprentices? Evidence from a case study in Switzerland

  • Published:
Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training Submit manuscript

Abstract

Due to widely spread distrust in the signalling value of school grades, Swiss employers require external standardised aptitude test results in the process of recruiting new apprentices. However, the predictive quality of such tests has never been thoroughly researched. Therefore, this case study analyses whether aptitude tests can improve the ability of firms to predict success in apprenticeship training. I find that such tests do not add information that explains the success in VET schooling (school grades during the first and second years of apprenticeship training), the probability of unexcused vocational school absences, or the likelihood of a premature termination of the apprenticeship contract.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amos, J., Amsler, F., Martin-Jahncke, M. & Michel, B. (2009). Evaluation der Resultate von Lehrabschlussprüfungen der beruflichen Grundausbildungen. Büro für Kommunikation, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrow, K. J., (1973). Higher education as a filter. Journal of Public Economics, 2(3), 193–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Boldt, J. (1989). Die Validität von Schulabschlussnoten für die Prognose von Ausbildungs- und Studienerfolg: eine Metaanalyse nach dem Prinzip der Validitätsgeneralisierung, Frankfurt a. M.: Lang

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, P. & Sheldon, G. (2008). Ethnic Discrimination in Education: The Swiss Case, Basel: University, Department of Economics, FAI

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertschy, K., Böni, E. & Meyer, T. (2008). Young people in transition from education to labour market. Results of the Swiss youth panel survey TREE, update 2007. Basel: TREE

    Google Scholar 

  • Bettinger, E. P., Evans, B. J. & Pope, D. G. (2011). Improving college performance and retention the easy way: unpacking the ACT exam, NBER Working Paper No. 17119

  • BFS (2005). PISA 2003: Kompetenzen für die Zukunft. Zweiter nationaler Bericht. Neuenburg: BFS

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, J. H. (1994). Signaling the competencies of high school students to employers. CAHRS Working Paper 94-18

  • Costrell, R. M. (1994). A simple model of educational standards. The American Economic Review, 84(4), 956–971

    Google Scholar 

  • De Paola, M. & Scoppa, V. (2010). A signalling model of school grades under different evaluation systems. Journal of Economics, 101(1), 1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fielding, A., Yang, M. & Goldstein, H. (2003). Multilevel ordinal models for examination grades. Statistical Modelling, 3(2), 127–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, D., (2007). Grades as information. Economics of Education Review, 26(2), 201–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Häberlin, U., Imdorf, C. & Kronig, W. (2004). Von der Schule in die Berufsschule. Untersuchungen zur Benachteiligung von ausländischen und von weiblichen Jugendlichen bei der Lehrstellensuche. Bern: Haupt

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckman, J. & Vytlacil, E. (2001). Identifying the role of cognitive ability in explaining the level of and change in the return of schooling. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(1), 1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunsley, J. & Meyer, G. J. (2003). The Incremental Validity of Psychological Testing and Assessment: Conceptual, Methodological, and Statistical Issues. Psychological Assessment, 15(4), 446–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imdorf, C. (2005). Schulqualifikation und Berufsfindung. Wie Geschlecht und nationale Herkunft den Übergang in die Berufsbildung strukturieren, Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften

    Google Scholar 

  • Imdorf, C. (2007). Die relative Bedeutsamkeit von Schulqualifikationen bei der Lehrstellenvergabe in kleineren Betrieben. In: T. Eckert, (Hrsg.), Übergänge im Bildungswesen. Münster: Waxmann

    Google Scholar 

  • Imdorf, C. (2009). Die betriebliche Verwertung von Schulzeugnissen bei der Ausbildungsstellenvergabe. Empirische Pädagogik, 23(4), 392–409

    Google Scholar 

  • Kronig, W., (2007). Die systematische Zufälligkeit des Bildungserfolgs. Bern: Haupt

    Google Scholar 

  • Lekholm, A. K. & Cliffordson, C. (2009). Effects of student characteristics on grades in compulsory school. Educational Research and Evaluation: An International Journal on Theory and Practice, 15(1), 1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindahl, E. (2007). Comparing teachers’ assessments and national test results — evidence from Sweden. IFAU — Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation

  • Lounsbury, J. W., Steel, R. P., Loveland, J. M. & Gibson, L. W. (2004). An investigation of personality traits in relation to adolescent school absenteeism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33(5), 457–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. R. (1998). Shortcut: high school grades as a signal of human capital. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 20(4), 299–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C., Stalder, B. E., & Schmid, E. (2008). Lehrvertragsauflösungen: Die Situation von ausländischen und Schweizer Lernenden. Ergebnisse aus dem Projekt LEVA, Bern: Erziehungsdirektion des Kantons Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, U. (2004). Jugendliche zwischen Schule und Berufsbildung. Eine Evaluation bei Schweizer Grossunternehmen unter Berücksichtigung des internationalen Schulleistungsvergleichs PISA, Bern: hep

    Google Scholar 

  • Mühlemann, S., Wolter, S., Fuhrer, M. & Wüest, A. (2007). Lehrlingsausbildung — ökonomisch betrachtet. Ergebnisse der zweiten Kosten-Nutzen-Studie, Zürich: Rüegger

    Google Scholar 

  • Mühlemann, S., Wolter, S. C. & Wüest, A. (2009). Apprenticeship training and the business cycle. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 1(2), 173–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Multicheck, (2010). Multicheck — Wissenschaftliche Erhebung, http://multicheck.potentials.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Wissenschaftliche_Dokumente/Broschuere_Wissenschaft.pdf. Konolfingen: Multicheck

    Google Scholar 

  • Murnane, R. J., Willett, J. B., Braatz, M. J. & Duhaldeborde, Y. (2001). Do different dimensions of male high school students’ skills predict labor market success a decade later? Evidence from the NLSY. Economics of Education Review, 20(4), 311–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, F. L. & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 85 Years of Research Findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stalder, B. E., Meyer, T. & Hupka-Brunner, S. (2008). Leistungsschwach — Bildungsarm? Ergebnisse der TREE-Studie zu den PISA-Kompetenzen als Prädiktoren für Bildungsschancen in der Sekundarstufe II. Die Deutsche Schule, 100(4), 436–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Stalder, B. E. & Schmid, E. (2006). Lehrvertragsauflösungen, ihre Ursachen und Konsequenzen. Ergebnisse aus dem Projekt LEVA. Bern: Erziehungsdirektion des Kantons Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Stamm, M., Niederhauser, M. & Kost, J. (2010). The top performers in vocational training. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 2, 65–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. E. (1975). The theory of «screening», education, and the distribution of income. The American Economic Review, 65(3), 283–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Sund, K. (2009). Estimating peer effects in Swedish high school using school, teacher, and student fixed effects. Economics of Education Review, 28(3), 329–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, A. (1995). Human capital vs. signalling explanations of wages. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(4), 133–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widmer, M. (2006). Reliabilität und Validität eines Berufseignungstests bei kaufmännischen Lehrlingen, Bern: Universität Bern

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Economic Institute (KOF), Weinbergstrasse 35, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Michael Siegenthaler

Authors
  1. Michael Siegenthaler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Siegenthaler.

Additional information

I would like to thank Stefan Wolter for his assistance and his comments during the entire research process. I would like to thank Ralph Hardegger, Michèle Oswald, Bernd Schauer, Simon Siegenthaler, participants of the Brown Bag Seminar at ETH Zurich, participants of the VET congress in Zollikofen, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and suggestions.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Siegenthaler, M. Can a standardised aptitude test predict the training success of apprentices? Evidence from a case study in Switzerland. Empirical Res Voc Ed Train 3, 105–128 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546501

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546501

Keywords

JEL classifications

Search

Navigation