Project Talent

Designed by American Institutes for Research founder John C. Flanagan, Project Talent was intended as “the first scientifically planned national inventory of human talents.”[1] Students from 1,353 schools across the country participated in two full to four days of testing.

At 1, 5, and 11 years after projected high school graduation, participants were asked to complete additional mail questionnaires that focused on their work and personal life.

Over the past 50 years, researchers have utilized Project Talent data for studies in economics, sociology, psychology, psychometrics, history, health, education, and many other fields.

Project Talent's combination of aptitude, cognitive, social, psychological, and health measures make it a unique data source for lifecourse studies.

He based his work on his experiences during World War II, when he headed a United States Army Air Corps aviation psychology program that sought to identify those who would excel at training and become able combat pilots.

Rather than making military assignments based solely on educational attainment or general IQ, he designed and administered exams to match raw abilities to particular skill sets.

Project Talent data from the base-year and follow-up studies highlight the dramatic and long-term effects of individual personality, family background, and early life experiences.

[14][15] More recently, Project Talent data has been used to study long-term changes in the American education system, work force, and family structure.

The American Institutes for Research launched a major effort to relocate participants and reconstruct the data from earlier waves into more modern file formats.

Additional follow-up studies currently under development seek to examine how the behaviors, abilities, and interests demonstrated early in life impact the well-being of individuals as they age.