The Highlands Ability Battery remains the best aptitude test for high school students. Previously, we’ve written about the Highlands Ability Battery Cost and its usefulness as an aptitude test. In this article, we’ll learn how students take the Highlands Ability Battery (HAB).
Steps To Complete The Highlands Ability Battery
There are several essential parts to taking the HAB for high school students. First, the student needs to find a certified HAB consultant.[1][2] After they’ve located a HAB consultant and retained their services, the HAB consultant will usually give the student an intro session to explain the HAB, what it does, and how students take the aptitude assessment. Students then take the assessment. After students complete the assessment, they then reach out to their certified HAB consultant for their debrief.
Thus, we can break the HAB testing into these four steps:
- Find a certified Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) or Aptitude Testing consultant.
- Take the aptitude assessment.
- Schedule your debrief with your HAB consultant
- Attend the HAB Debrief
Find a Certified Aptitude Testing Consultant
Students must find a HAB consultant to take the Highlands Ability Battery. Certified Highland Consultants undergo rigorous training to become qualified to administer the test. All consultants complete 16 hours of live training and pass a four-hour practicum to become certified. Each certified consultant usually has a specialty or a particular audience they work with. For example, most of my clients are high school or college students. Other Highlands Consultants I know are career coaches who primarily work with transitioning professionals or leaders.
Most HAB consultants who work with students are educational consultants (like me). As such, I use the HAB’s aptitude testing features to advise students on the following:
Many of our clients just want aptitude testing, regardless of our other services. However, any of my clients who hire us for the services mentioned are required to take the HAB. All they have to do is pay for the assessment (usually between $450 and $600), and then we give them access to take it.
For a deeper breakdown of pricing, read the “How Much Does the Highlands Ability Battery Costs?” article.
Take the Highlands Ability Battery
Taking the HAB is pretty straightforward. However, feel free to check out the “Getting Started With Your Highlands Ability Battery” below to learn all the specifics. I ask all my students to watch it before taking the assessment.
To make a short story even shorter, here’s how taking the test works.
How Long Does the HAB Take to Complete?
The entire test takes about 3 hours. Yikes, right? Yet, here’s the good news: Fortunately, you don’t have to take it all at once. The test is broken into 19 sections or “work samples,” each measuring a specific aptitude. For example, the longest is eleven minutes, so you can steadily pace yourself and take breaks between sections. This flexibility benefits neurodivergent students tremendously, especially those with ADHD or verbal processing challenges.
I was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade. Even now, as an adult, sitting down for a three-hour assessment proves challenging. So, at least to me, taking the HAB in a single three-hour sitting would have felt insurmountably tricky. So, if you’re restless, pace the test over a series of hours or days. The choice is yours.
What’s the HAB Like?
Most work samples will feel like puzzles or short tasks, not traditional questionnaires. The test is interactive and timed, so expect a bit of a challenge! Don’t worry if some parts feel difficult; that’s completely normal. The goal isn’t to score high or low but to better understand how your aptitudes align with different career options.
Please remember that the HAB isn’t an IQ test. We’re not measuring your intelligence. We’re measuring your aptitudes, which are very different (see our What is an Aptitude Test article). However, when you take the assessment, it will FEEL like an IQ test. In other words, you’ll feel stupid while taking parts of it. Yes. You read that right. Students will feel dumb through certain sections. There’s a good reason for that.
You see, each section is timed. The assessment’s timing adds intensity to the experience and pushes you to use your natural abilities. Sometimes, being pushed that way isn’t pleasant. But remember, feeling dumber than a sack of rocks while taking an aptitude test is expected, so don’t get discouraged or overwhelmed while taking the HAB.
Where Do You Take the Highlands Ability Battery?
You’ll take the test online using a desktop or laptop computer with reliable internet access. DO NOT take the HAB on a tablet or phone. It’s also essential to be in a quiet, distraction-free environment, as the test requires focus and sound for certain portions.
Once you finish the HAB, you’ll meet with a consultant to review your results and discuss how your unique aptitudes can guide your next steps, whether selecting a college major or planning a career path.
Schedule Your Debrief with a Certified Aptitude Testing Consultant
When you finish taking the HAB, the best part is next. You then meet with your HAB consultant. They will debrief your results. All HAB consultants will give you a 1.5-2-hour debrief. In that meeting, they will review your results, show you how to access your HAB reports and recommend careers that align with your aptitudes. If you’d like to see a sample of the HAB career reports, click the image below.
The HAB debrief provides students with a wholly unique experience. Think about it: how many times have you sat down with an expert to learn about what you’re good at for 2 hours? If there’s a vain bone in your body, that likely sounds fun or at least intriguing. As a HAB consultant, I enjoy this part of the college or career planning process most of all with my students. There’s something inarguably rewarding about giving voice to the unique data the assessment reveals about each student.[3] One student might excel at remembering images, another might process text at a vivacious rate, while another student might possess the mechanical predilections of an architect or engineer.
Take the example of this student below:
Marco, High School Senior
Marco’s parents, both lawyers, have encouraged him to attend their alma mater, choose a pre-law major and attend law school. As a child, Marco thought it might be fun to follow in their footsteps. But doubts began to surface during sophomore and junior year, when he felt a pull toward architecture or engineering. He wondered if he should take the path of least resistance and pursue law, or if something else might be a better fit.
The results of his Highlands Ability Battery™ revealed that Marco had strong natural Spatial Reasoning abilities, supported by strong 2-D visual aptitudes (high Design Memory + high Observation). These abilities would serve him well should he choose either architecture or engineering. Was a legal career even an option? Absolutely, especially had it aligned with his interests, values and goals. However, his strong preference for introversion and low classification might have rendered certain types of law draining, which would be worth considering out of the gate.
Building on the foundation of his natural abilities, Marco, with the full support of his parents, [found] both architecture… and confidently decided to choose a college that offered a robust architecture program.[4]
I have dozens of stories like these, and I am immensely proud of each one. Showing students unbiased and data-driven evaluations of their talents is serious business. And, as I’ve already mentioned, as an educational consultant, it’s a rewarding part of my job.
Schedule Your Highlands Ability Battery Today
The HAB is a game changer for any student preparing for the future. HAB consultants are often a treasure to work with. As students work with their educational consultant to complete their assessment, while it may take a while and be frustrating sitting for a test, the debrief the consultant gives more than makes up for it. Aptitude tests, most notably the HAB, ensure students succeed in a career they love.
To take your aptitude test today, click on the link below.
References
[1] Stiles, Dori. “Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) Consultant Certification.” The Highlands Company, https://www.highlandsco.com/get-started/become-a-consultant/. Accessed 4 September 2024.
[2] Stiles, Dori. “An Overview of Highlands Certification Training.” https://highlandsco.com/, The Highlands Company, 10 September 2015, https://highlandsco.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2016-Highlands-Certification-Overview.pdf. Accessed 4 September 2024.
[3] The Highlands Company. “The Benefits of a Career Aptitude Test for High School & College Students.” The Highlands Company, 1 December 2021, https://www.highlandsco.com/start-out-strong-hab-for-students/. Accessed 10 September 2024.
[4] The Highlands Company. “The Highlands Ability Battery: A Lifelong Tool to Guide Career Decisions.” The Highlands Company, 3 Apr. 2022, www.highlandsco.com/the-highlands-ability-battery-a-lifelong-tool-to-guide-career-decisions/. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.
