What is the AARP?

 Vision Statement
AARP’s vision is to conduct meaningful research and testing initiatives that contribute to greater understanding of access and success issues in Higher and Further Education in Southern Africa and internationally


 Mission
In order to achieve its vision, AARP strives to:

• Develop tests of language, mathematical and scientific reasoning and thinking that are valid predictors of performance in educational contexts; that are developed nationally by discipline experts; and that tap core competencies required by students in these educational contexts

• Do research into the predictability of its tests, through exploring various methodologies for assessing this predictability; by assessing cognitive and other factors that predict academic success; by building extensive databases on student throughput; and by subjecting its tests to scientific scrutiny (in the areas of validity, reliability, item bias, test coherence)

• Develop, organise and arrange a national and international testing and research infrastructure

• Provide results and reports on these results in the key areas of access to and placement in Higher Education; diagnosis of students’ academic strengths and weaknesses; and prediction of student success

 Core Values
• Having integrity in testing and research and with clients
• Being research-led and informed
• Committing to teamwork and collaboration
• Being accountable
• Being fair and equitable in provision
• Delivering a quality service


 Essential Features of the Testing Initiative
• An English language based academic skills test and, where appropriate, two Mathematics tests and a Scientific Reasoning test, are the main instruments used by the Project
• The Project aims to identify talented students who are not identifiable on the basis of their matriculation results alone, or who do not attend schools which provide reliable pre-matric exam performance data: it does not compete with the matriculation score; and
• The Project also aims to identify academically excellent students at an early stage (i.e. before 'mock matric') to assist Institutions to recruit the best applicants by making competitive early offers.

The Project began in 1986 with the aim to devise selection criteria to identify talented, but educationally disadvantaged students, who could be said to have the potential to succeed at university in a context of appropriate academic support and curriculum structuring. The Project currently runs tests in collaboration with several other Higher Education institutions, and has assisted various companies in selecting students for bursary schemes. In addition to its direct testing role for UCT and other institutions, the Project has been increasingly involved in work related to developments in the school-leaving examination, particularly in relation to its function as a regulatory mechanism for access to Higher Education. Another extension of AARP activities is its role in assisting schools with their assessment practices - specifically at this stage with the development of scholarship examinations that will identify gifted yet educationally disadvantaged students.


 Project Strengths
• An established national provider of selection, diagnostic and predictive information
• A strong commitment to test development, client service and research
• A defined research, administrative and test development infrastructure
• Strong infrastructural support
• Client growth and increasing buy-in
• A strongly collaborative team
• Good interpersonal relations
• Good relationships with external clients
• A pool of highly qualified and experienced expertise

 Project Location
The Project is located in the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) which is a Faculty at the University of Cape Town.