The Wonderlic test has long been criticized as an accurate indicator of football intelligence, but the NFL insists on having athletes take the test at every scouting combine. This will still be the case in 2013, but this year, the league will add a separate aptitude test, said Jeff Foster, the president of National Football Scouting. According to Foster, the hope is that the new test is "something that's a little more evolved than the Wonderlic."
Here's the NFL's memo about the new test:
At this year's combine we will introduce a new and expanded player assessment tool designed to offer a much more robust and comprehensive assessment of a player's non-physical capabilities, aptitudes, and strengths. This tool was developed by Harold Goldstein, Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Baruch College, City University of NY. Professor Goldstein is an expert in industrial psychology who has designed employment tests in a variety of other industries and has worked closely with Cyrus Mehri of the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
The assessment tool being introduced at the Combine is not intended to displace anything currently in use or substitute for other tests that are given either at the Combine or by the clubs themselves. Rather, this new test measures a wide range of competencies, including learning styles, motivation, decision-making skills, responding to pressure or unexpected stimuli, and core intellect. It was developed after detailed discussions with current and former league executives, including Ernie Accorsi, Thomas Dimitroff, John Elway, and Jerry Reese, and was reviewed by members of the general managers Advisory Committee.
This is an exciting innovation that brings updated best practices from corporate America to the NFL football operations. By giving clubs new and more relevant information, it offers additional information to supplement your decision-making in the draft. One of the most interesting aspects is that new information on player learning styles can potentially help our coaches' work more effectively with young players.
The Wonderlic is comprised of 50 questions, and people are given 12 minutes to complete it. Created in 1936 by E. F. Wonderlic, the test is given to people in many different walks of life, and has been part of player evaluation since former Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry introduced it to football in the 1970s. Several different studies have exposed the test as a less-than-accurate predictor of future football success.
