Advanced Compass consists probably of six tests altogether and has been developed by a company called 'European Pilot Selection & Training (EPST)' Their website is at
http://www.epst.com
About the Advanced Compass Test it says the following:
Advanced-COMPASS (COMPASS for license holders/pilots)
Advanced COMPASS consists of six tests which have been developed to test some of the key skill areas for the pilot profession. Advanced COMPASS is for licence holders and experienced pilots only.
The tests include:
Complex Control Task A test to fly an ILS while handling the rudder pedals and speed settings.
Profesional knowledge A number of questions and situations to test the pilot's theoretical comprehension.
Mathematics A test of basic applied mathematical understanding and speed.
Memory Accuracy of short-term memory recall and ability to 'chunk’ information.
Task Manager A test of the candidate’s ability to scan the screen and manage two concurrent tasks accurately and quickly.
Orientation Instrument interpretation, comprehension and spatial orientation.
Aviation-English Test English language abiity, including recognizing ATC sound messages
Verbal Reasoning The ability of the candidate to understand, analyze and logically interpret written information
The result of Advanced-COMPASS is a very cost-effective way to avoid unnecessary grading cost (and time). The tests are produced automatically.
Design:
COMPASS is a product of European Pilot Selection & Training (EPST), which is part of the APST Holding Group. The test battery was designed and developed by Captain Robin Acton BA (design and testing), Dr John Acton PhD (data processing) and Mr Martijn Niekerk BSc (IT specialist). Robin Acton has been involved in basic pilot training since 1968 and was British Airway’s manager responsible for pilot recruitment and selection in the late 1980s.
Validation:
An independent validation of the COMPASS product has been carried out by Drs. Lilian Biber-Klever of the Aviation Human Factor Center. Drs. Lillian Biber is a specialist Aviation Psychologist. The results is summarised below.
“ The total validity of the COMPASS testing battery is .79. The lowest level is .6 and so .79 is not bad. The confidence level is also .79. This means that if someone takes the tests twice, the odds are .79 that the result will be the same. Also here the lowest level is .6.
A lot of tests give a confidence level that can be calculated in many ways. Often tests are divided in two parts and one half linked to the other half. The EPST method (analysing results of candidates doing the test with 3 months in between) is more realistic but often gives a lower result. So .79 is not bad.”
It is EPST's experience (together with its world-wide clients with over 5000 tests performed with this product) that a combination of Advanced-COMPASS and a simulator grading prior to a Type Rating virtually reduces the training failures to near zero. We at EPST had no Type Rating training failure since the introduction of these elements in our pilot selection.