Problems in Air Traffic Management: v. Identification and Potential of Aptitude Test Measures for Selection of Tower Air Traffic Controller Trainees.

A study of over 200 Terminal Air Traffic Control Specialists indicated that their training performance could be well predicted by a composite of four aptitude tests measuring: numerical ability, non-verbal abstract reasoning, ability to solve simplified air traffic problems, and verbal abstract reasoning. Pre-employment experience directly related to air traffic control was also found to contribute to the prediction of training performance. Although the ai.)titude tests were related in the expected direction with a measure of job performance, the relationships were small. The aptitude of verbal abstract reasoning is both unique and important for the prediction of Terminal ATCS performance. Previous resear-ch has failed to identify such an aptitude as being of importance for the prediction of Euroute ATCS performance. With the exception of verbal abstract reasoning, the group of Civil Service Commission tests presently being used to select all ATCS trainees provides adequate measures of those aptitudes which this study identified as most significant for the prediction of Terminal performance and is still appropriate for selection of Terminal ATCS trainees. -'""rHE RESULTS OF previous research conducted at .1. the Federal Aviation Agency's (FAA) Civil Aeromedical Research Institute (CARl) have indicated the contribution which aptitude test measures can make in the selection of personnel for air traffic control training. From the Selection Section, Psychology Branch, Federal Aviation Agency, Civil Aeromedical Research Institute, Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Opinions or conclusions contained in this report are those of the a)lthor. They are not to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views or the endorsement of the Federal Aviation Agency. More specifically, it has been shown that aptitude test measures can be used to predict 2 s.chool performance in centralized basic training courses, and 4 supervisory ratings of on-the-job performance at operational facilities one to five years after completion of basic training. However, there are two different groups or types of air traffic controllers (ATC's) involved in the FAA's management of air traffic. The present study represents the first major effort toward identifying specific aptitude measures that may have potential for further improving the prediction of performance criteria for one of the two types of trainees, i.e., Terminal (or Tower) trainees. Much of the previous research has been .focused upon analysis of data for trainees preparing for control work at any one of the. 24 continental Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Such controllers are referred to as Enroute or Center controllers, while those working in Terminal or Airport Tower facilities are designated as Terminal controllers. Separate basic training courses were formerly provided by the FAA Academy at the Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City for personnel recruited for training in the different types of control. However, the Enroute course was discontinued in October of 1962 with further emphasis being directed toward on-the-job training at operational facilities. The Terminal cotirse continued to be offered. The Academy's two courses are characterized by both differences and similarities in regard to instruction and objectives. Common to both courses are seven academic or study areas. One of the seven pertains to Air Route Traffic Control ( ARTC) which receives major emphasis in the Enroute Course. Another is that of Terminal Area Traffic Control ( T ATC) which receives greater emphasis Reprinted from AEROSPACE MEDICINE Vol. 35, No. 11, November, 1964. ©Aerospace Medical Association PROBLEMS IN AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT-COBB in the Terminal course. Instruction and training in either course is oriented toward qualification on an Air Traffic Control Specialist Certification Examination. The examination and qualification requirements are identical for trainees of either type. A considerable portion of training also consists of laboratory work simulating that which each type of trainee will experience after assignment to an operational facility. · Until mid-1962, all trainees were selected on the basis of medical and job-experience requirements-with attainment of the latter usually resulting from military service. No formal assessment of aptitudes by testing procedures was involved in the screening of applicants for training. As part of a research program aimed at improvement of selection techniques, administration of an extensive experimental aptitude test battery to all Enroute and Terminal trainees arriving at the Academy was initiated in September of 1960. The objective was to determine the specific aptitude areas having the best potential for prediction of performance measures. Due to substantially larger class inputs, data in sufficient quantity to permit an analysis was first accumulated for the Enroute trainees. Prediction equations, which were developed through iterative multiple regression techniques, and validated on subsequent samples, revealed that the best composite for prediction of Enroute training-course performance criteria should include tests of numerical ability, space relations, abstract reasoning, air traffic problems and figure analogies. These Enroute prediction equations were also applied and found to be highly valid for Terminal trainees. Results for early phases of this research were reported at the 32nd annual meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association. In subsequent studies, prediction equations based on combinations of aptitude tests found most valid for criteria of Enroute samples, have been applied to data of Terminal samples with repeated success. However, the present study-in contrast to those previously reported-constituted the first major detailed analysis actually based on Terminal-trainee data and aimed at determining the specific composite of test measures and respective weighting factors most useful for the prediction of performance criteria for Terminal controller trainees.