TAMANNA – Try And Measure Aptitude And Natural Abilities.

To facilitate schools in helping students make informed career choices, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) under the aegis of Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India has developed Tamanna: An Aptitude Test for Senior School Students (Classes IX and X). Tamanna is an abbreviation for Try And Measure Aptitude And Natural Abilities. The test has been developed by the Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education (NIE, NCERT) and piloted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The test contains items on the seven dimensions measured in the aptitude test, i.e., Language Aptitude (LA), Abstract Reasoning (AR), Verbal Reasoning (VR), Mechanical Reasoning (MR), Numerical Aptitude (NA), Spatial Aptitude (SA), and Perceptual Aptitude (PA).

As students enter the secondary stage of schooling, they move closer to making many important choices, one of which is deciding the stream of study such as Humanities, Commerce, Science or Vocational. This decision is influenced by a number of factors such as their interests, attitudes, motivation, personality and aptitude, and often by their parents, family members, friends and teachers. Teachers and parents play a significant role in helping students make decisions by facilitating them to know their aspirations, strengths and limitations. When students are aware of their strengths, it helps them become motivated and put in more effort, which is likely to result in improved performance.

Thus, knowing one's aptitude may help a student make informed career (educational and occupational/vocational) choices. It is important to know that students' interests, personal qualities, educational and occupational information/requirements also play a crucial role in career planning.