Assessment FAQs

Have questions about the career assessments we offer? Check out our FAQ for the Highlands Ability Battery, the Myers-Briggs, and the Strong Interest Inventory.

Assessment FAQs

Highlands Ability Battery (HAB)

The Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) is a tool that objectively assesses your natural abilities by asking you to perform a series of timed tasks and exercises.

The HAB consists of 19 virtual work samples measuring basic human abilities that are predictive of academic and occupational success. Measured abilities include the following:

  • Diagnostic thinking is an aptitude for recognizing patterns and relationships among seemingly discrete or unrelated events, notions or ideas. Strong diagnostic thinkers typically perform well when a premium is placed on rapidly identifying solutions or understanding complex problems often found in the medical, legal and various consulting fields
  • Analytical thinking is an aptitude to recognize structure among related ideas. People with strong analytical ability gravitate towards the logical sequencing of facts, events or processes often found in engineering, computer programming, accounting- finance and editing fields.
  • Idea productivity is the rate at which a person offers ideas; a measure of the quantity of ideas, not their quality. In addition to roles within fields such as advertising, marketing and writing, the ability enhances persuading, selling and communication.
  • Spatial relations theory is the ability to understand the theoretical underpinnings or the interconnectedness of mechanical or interpersonal systems.
  • Spatial relations visualization or structural visualization is the ability to perceive objects in three dimensions. People strong in this ability need a connection to the hands-on or concrete world often found in mechanical, dental, scientific, engineering, architectural and artistic fields.
  • Observation is the ability to recall objects and changes in a person’s field of vision.
  • Design memory is the ability to visualize, recall, and expand on a two-dimensional graphic or design; useful in fields such as biology, architecture, fashion, and art history.
  • Verbal memory is the ability to remember material presented in written form and to associate words or terms that relate to each other.
  • Tonal memory is the ability to remember and differentiate between musical tones; the memory for melodies and harmonies; a measure of the ability to learn by listening.
  • Rhythm memory is the ability to perceive and remember rhythmic patterns and actions; relates to the process of learning through movement (kinesthetics).
  • Pitch discrimination is the ability to perceive and identify minute differences in sounds on a tonal scale; relates to the ability to detect fine differences in taste, touch, and the other senses.
  • Number memory is the ability to remember non-associated numbers. The student sees multi-digit numbers and is asked to reproduce them. This is a valuable ability in inventory control, stock trading, and retail sales.
  • Visual speed and visual accuracy are the speed and accuracy with which one sees and processes numbers, letters, and symbols.

Within 24 hours of purchasing the Highlands Ability Battery from our site, you will receive an email with instructions for taking the assessment as well as link and registration key that will allow you to access the assessment platform.

Approximately 3 hours in total. However, you do not have to take the entire assessment at once. For example, you can complete each work sample individually and return to the exam later. Or, you can divide the exam into smaller groups of work samples, allowing yourself a break in between as needed.

After you complete the 19 work samples comprising the HAB, you will receive an individual analyses report identifying the score received for each ability and how each score relates to your personality, motivation, learning style, communication style, ability to solve problems, and ability to make decisions. You will also receive an interactive career supplement revealing your unique ability patterns and a sample of careers best suited for such patterns. Finally, within 48 hours of completing the HAB, a HAB-certified consultant will reach out via email to schedule a 90-to-120-minute debrief via Zoom or phone. During the debrief, your consultant will interpret your HAB results, guide you through the report, and help you identify careers, learning environments, and work roles that would be a good fit given your natural abilities.

Individuals aged 14 or older.

No, abilities as we define them are stable and develop naturally by the age of 14 or 15. At that point, they remain, essentially unchanged, throughout the rest of life. Skills can be added to achieve/enhance performance in any endeavor, but natural abilities are constant.

Potentially, yes. One of the strengths of the HAB is that it tests the five prime learning channels – verbal memory, tonal memory, design memory, number memory, and rhythm memory. HAB results identify a student’s relative strength in all five learning channels, highlighting how he/she best learns and what tools to rely on moving forward.

Past research shows that the Highlands Ability Batter is both a reliable and valid tool for assessing an individual’s aptitudes and abilities. However, it is important to note that abilities alone cannot identify what academic and occupational pathways one should pursue. For example, when making education and career-related decisions, individuals should also consider their skills, interests, values, personality/personal style, and goals.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a tool designed to assess your personality preferences and help you better understand yourself, your motivations, your natural strengths, and your potential areas of growth.

The MBTI instrument consists of 144 items that help you identify your natural preferences in four areas of personality, namely how you direct and receive energy, how you take in information, how you decide and come to conclusions, and how you approach the outside world. The MBTI sorts your natural preferences into one of 16 distinct MBTI types, and as result, offers personality insights that you can use to more effectively approach your relationships as well as your choices about education and career.

Within 24 hours of purchasing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator from our site, you will receive an email with instructions for taking the assessment and link that will take you directly to the assessment platform.

Approximately 30-45 minutes.

Immediately after completing the MBTI and verifying your results through the interactive MBTI® Complete questionnaire, you will receive a three-page description of your MBTI type as well as access to a customized online content portal providing insights into how you can use knowledge of your MBTI type to further develop your personal strengths, more effectively interact with others, and improve your career prospects. In addition, within 48 hours of completing the MBTI assessment, our counseling team will send (1) your MBTI® Career Report indicating the occupational areas most attractive to your MBTI type and (2) a customized dataset of 50+ “top” careers (i.e., careers with the highest salaries and projected job growth) for your MBTI type. The dataset includes job growth estimates, salary figures, and educational requirements for each career, among other data points.

Individuals aged 14 or older.

Numerous peer-reviewed studies have found that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is both a reliable and valid tool for assessing your personality preferences and helping you to better understand your behavior. However, the MBTI’s overwhelming popularity has often resulted in its misuse. For example, some individuals and organizations have relied on the MBTI for hiring decisions and to predict job performance, even though the instrument was never intended to be used in such a way. While the MBTI can help you identify good-fit occupations and professional fields, it cannot assess what job you’ll be best at (i.e., it is not an ability or aptitude measure). Moreover, is important to note that your MBTI results should be considered as one factor among many when making decisions about your academic and professional future. Other factors could include your aptitudes/abilities, your values, interests, and your educational and financial goals.

The Strong Interest Inventory

The Strong Interest Inventory is a tool designed to assess an individual’s interests and offer guidance on potential career paths and/or educational pursuits.

The assessment consists of 291 questions/items that ask about your preferences for particular work tasks, activities, and hobbies. It then compares your responses with those of satisfied workers in a wide range of occupations in order to determine what fields and careers you are most likely to enjoy.

Within 24 hours of purchasing the Strong from our site, you will receive an email with instructions for taking the assessment and link that will take you directly to the assessment platform.

Approximately 30 minutes.

Within 48 hours of completing the Strong, your results are delivered via email in the form of a iStartStrong™ Report. In addition, you will receive access to a customized dataset of 50+ “top” careers (i.e., careers with the highest earning potential and projected job growth) that are best suited to your interests as measured by the Strong. The dataset includes job growth estimates, salary figures, and educational requirements for each career, among other data points.

Individuals aged 14 or older.

Numerous peer-reviewed studies have found that the Strong Interest Inventory is both a reliable and valid tool for assessing interests and career preferences. However, it is important to note that your Strong results and your interests/preferences in general should be considered as one factor among many when making decisions about your academic and professional future. Other factors could include your aptitudes/abilities, your values, your personality/personal style, and your educational and financial goals.