This test was designed to measure your aptitude for working with computers.  This means that it will show how well you can follow instructions, obey rules and procedures, and solve problems.  It has nothing to do with how much you know about computers, so if you’re new to them, don’t worry!  You might still do very well on this test.  Even if you don’t score as high as you would have liked, that doesn’t mean that you are incapable of using a computer or even working in the computer field—only that you’ll probably have to work harder at it than someone who scores higher.

Section 1: Comparison deals with similarities and differences.  When using computers you will often have to see how something relates to something else, or which element of a set does not match the others.

Section 2: Syntax asks you to follow very precise rules that don’t seem to mean anything.  Computer languages and commands often use odd characters in seemingly arbitrary patterns, and you will have to be able to catch any mistakes that were made when entering those patterns.

Section 3: Procedure presents flow charts, which are invaluable to a programmer, and asks you to analyze them to see what they are showing.  Computers “think” in terms of opposites: on and off, yes and no, true and false.  A flow chart is a picture of the steps in a computer’s “thinking”, and being able to understand it will help you understand how to work with the computer and where things might be going wrong.

Section 4: Math/Logic measures your problem-solving skills.  Troubleshooting demands that you be able to work out a problem to its logical conclusion, either by determining directly what is true or by eliminating what is not true until only one solution is possible.

Section 5: Sequence tests your ability to see what comes next in a pattern.  Programmers must be able to think ahead and see what they must ask the computer to do next in order to get the result they want, while still following the rules of computer languages and commands.