Miller Analogies Test
Encyclopedia
The Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is a standardized test
used primarily for graduate school
admissions in the USA. Created and still published by Harcourt Assessment
, the MAT consists of 120 questions in 60 minutes (formerly 100 questions in 50 minutes).
Bach : Composing :: Monet :
This should be read as "Bach is to (:) Composing as (::) Monet is to (:) _______." The answer would be a. painting because just as Bach
is most known for composing music, Monet is most known for his painting. The open slot may appear in any of the four positions.
Unlike analogies found on past editions of the GRE
and the SAT
, the MAT's analogies demand a broad knowledge of Western culture, testing subjects such as science, music, literature, philosophy, mathematics, art, and history. Thus, exemplary success on the MAT requires more than a nuanced and cultivated vocabulary. In-house factor analysis studies, however, show that only one major factor accounts for most of a person's performance.
The MAT has fallen out of favor among some admissions departments, yet it is still widely accepted in the social sciences, education, and occasionally in the humanities. For most graduate programs the GRE is the most common qualifying exam.
Out of the 120 questions, only 100 count in the test taker's score. The remaining 20 questions are experimental. There is no way for test takers to identify any of the 20 experimental questions on a given test form, as the two types of questions are intermingled.
Tests taken before October 2004 were scored simply by the number of questions the test-taker answered correctly, with a range from 0-100. Scores using this metric have historically been known as "raw" scores.
Tests taken in October 2004 or later have a score range from 200 to 600. The median score is 400, with a standard deviation
of 25 points. These scores, based on a normal curve, are known as "scaled" scores. Because of their grounding in this model, scaled MAT scores of 500-600 are extremely rare, as they would be more than four standard deviations above the norm of 400.
Percentile ranks are also provided along with the official score report. Test takers receive an overall percentile rank as well as a percentile rank within their intended graduate school discipline.
The Miller Analogies Test is accepted by Mensa
, the Triple Nine Society
and the Prometheus Society
for its admission requirements. For tests administered prior to October 2004, a raw score of 66 is required for MENSA qualification. For tests administered during and after October 2004, MENSA requires a score in the 95th percentile for admission. The Triple Nine Society requires at least a raw score of 85 on the "old" MAT, and at least 472 on the modern one. The Prometheus Society requires at least a raw score of 98 on the "old" MAT, and at least 500 on the modern one.
Standardized test
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a...
used primarily for graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
admissions in the USA. Created and still published by Harcourt Assessment
Harcourt Assessment
Harcourt Assessment was a company that published and distributed educational and psychological assessment tools and therapy resources and provided educational assessment and data management services for national, state, district and local assessments...
, the MAT consists of 120 questions in 60 minutes (formerly 100 questions in 50 minutes).
Content and use
The test aims to measure an individual's logical and analytical reasoning through the use of partial analogies. A sample test question might beBach : Composing :: Monet :
- a. painting
- b. composing
- c. writing
- d. orating
This should be read as "Bach is to (:) Composing as (::) Monet is to (:) _______." The answer would be a. painting because just as Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
is most known for composing music, Monet is most known for his painting. The open slot may appear in any of the four positions.
Unlike analogies found on past editions of the GRE
Graduate Record Examination
The Graduate Record Examinations is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States, in other English-speaking countries and for English-taught graduate and business programs world-wide...
and the SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, the MAT's analogies demand a broad knowledge of Western culture, testing subjects such as science, music, literature, philosophy, mathematics, art, and history. Thus, exemplary success on the MAT requires more than a nuanced and cultivated vocabulary. In-house factor analysis studies, however, show that only one major factor accounts for most of a person's performance.
The MAT has fallen out of favor among some admissions departments, yet it is still widely accepted in the social sciences, education, and occasionally in the humanities. For most graduate programs the GRE is the most common qualifying exam.
Format and scoring
In the fall of 2004, the exam became computerized; test-takers can now opt to take it as a computer-based test (CBT), although the pen-and-paper exam still exists.Out of the 120 questions, only 100 count in the test taker's score. The remaining 20 questions are experimental. There is no way for test takers to identify any of the 20 experimental questions on a given test form, as the two types of questions are intermingled.
Tests taken before October 2004 were scored simply by the number of questions the test-taker answered correctly, with a range from 0-100. Scores using this metric have historically been known as "raw" scores.
Tests taken in October 2004 or later have a score range from 200 to 600. The median score is 400, with a standard deviation
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or diversity used in statistics and probability theory. It shows how much variation or "dispersion" there is from the average...
of 25 points. These scores, based on a normal curve, are known as "scaled" scores. Because of their grounding in this model, scaled MAT scores of 500-600 are extremely rare, as they would be more than four standard deviations above the norm of 400.
Percentile ranks are also provided along with the official score report. Test takers receive an overall percentile rank as well as a percentile rank within their intended graduate school discipline.
The Miller Analogies Test is accepted by Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, the Triple Nine Society
Triple Nine Society
The Triple Nine Society , founded in 1978, is a voluntary association of individuals who have scored at or above the 99.9th percentile on specific IQ tests under supervised conditions, which generally correlates to an IQ of 149 or greater...
and the Prometheus Society
Prometheus Society
The Prometheus Society is a high IQ society, similar to Mensa International, but much more restrictive. The entry test is designed to be passable by 1 in 30,000 of the population; Mensa entry is achievable by 1 in 50...
for its admission requirements. For tests administered prior to October 2004, a raw score of 66 is required for MENSA qualification. For tests administered during and after October 2004, MENSA requires a score in the 95th percentile for admission. The Triple Nine Society requires at least a raw score of 85 on the "old" MAT, and at least 472 on the modern one. The Prometheus Society requires at least a raw score of 98 on the "old" MAT, and at least 500 on the modern one.