The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an aptitude test that is completed by prospective medical and dental students at age 17-18 by UK secondary (high school) students. Their score on this test is used as part of applications to medical schools.
It consists of 5 subtests:
Verbal Reasoning
Decision Making
Quantitative Reasoning
Abstract Reasoning
Situational Judgement (assessed differently to other subtests)
I thought this sort of test would be good at determining IQ since the question types are fairly novel - I do a lot of cognitive self-testing as part of my interest in cognition (ICAR16, ICAR60, Raven's short form, Mensa workouts, TIG, Dominoes, etc).
I did one recently and found it much more challenging than any standard IQ test - especially the time constraints. I feel as though with Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning, I could have done significantly better if given enough time - the time restrictions are VERY tight on the UCAT.
Now, students that are going to do the UCAT prepare and practice before hand, sometimes for months - mnemonics and techniques are drilled that help them identify the AR patterns. As a result, since UCAT scores are relative to cohort performance, a person doing it without practice (ie. me or likely anyone here) will have a deflated scaled score. I found the AR particularly challenging.
Is there any reason to believe UCAT scores to be indicative of raw g-f and g-c? I do considerably better on tests strictly designed as IQ tests (esp. ICAR16, the only one I've done really worth giving a damn about) than on the UCAT. For example, with minimal preparation I got significantly better on the QR section than average, but significantly worse on the AR section. I got 14/16 on the ICAR16 (novel questions, likely not as liable to practice effect as other IQ tests I've completed) but this score isn't reflective of my raw UCAT score.
What spooked me was my AR performance - on IQ tests (more specifically, fluid intelligence tests) I do fairly well (GIQ >130, Mensa practice >120, ICAR60 42/60) but I really struggled with UCAT AR questions.
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