An investigation of the use of SATB norms for MDTA training courses disclosed that approximately half the applicants admitted to training did not pass the appropriate norms. Research was undertaken to determine whether these norms, developed mainly on samples of employed workers or regular technical‐vocational students, were capable of differentiating between successful and unsuccessful MDTA trainees. An analysis was also made to determine the appropriateness of a new method of SATB interpretation based on the standard error of measurement for each of the GATB's nine aptitudes. The results indicated that the SATB's had good selective efficiency for MDTA trainees, and the new method of SATB interpretation was strongly supported by the dat