In most management institutes of India, the MAT score, based on an all
India management aptitude test conducted by All India Management Association
(AIMA), is taken as the primary indicator of a student's ability to be enrolled in
the management courses and do well in the same. The primary asset of the MAT
score is that it provides a common measure, administered under standard condition
with known reliability and validity for evaluating the academic skills of many individuals.
MAT score, as proclaimed by AIMA, has two important characteristics. First, it
is a reliable measure of certain developed skills that have been found to be
important in the study of business management at the graduate level.
Second, unlike graduation level marks, which vary in their meaning according
to the marking standards of each college or university, MAT score is based on
the same standards for all candidates.
These two characteristics naturally make MAT score a favorite choice for a
majority of B-schools who otherwise find it difficult to assess the aptitude of the
prospective candidates who wish to make a career in the field of business management.
Though AIMA proclaims that it conducts periodic studies to check the ability
of MAT score in predicting academic success in the first year of study of
the postgraduate courses, independent researches in this area could throw
valuable insights. It would be worthwhile to periodically and empirically assess whether it
is serving the purpose or not. Like in the US, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) had to
be revised several times as it was losing its predictive validity. |
