Testing has been fully accepted in modern societies as the most objective method of decision making. It is now
used for admission, recruitment, promotion, placement, evaluation, guidance, research and teaching purpose
among others. There is a general worry about the poor quality of education in Nigeria. The frequency of
occurrence of examination malpractice and incidence of mass failure in examinations indicate state of
hopelessness and helplessness in the educational system. There could be no serious incidence of examination
malpractice if there are no academically weak students. The ugly incidence of examination malpractice accounts
for the existence of several qualifying examinations in Nigeria such as post university matriculation aptitude
tests, job placement aptitude test, among others to authenticate candidates’ certificates. The incidence of mass
failure in examination has become so endemic that one wonders if placement evaluation in form of aptitude
testing is actually serving its intended purpose. The terms aptitude, achievement and intelligence are often used
interchangeably in Nigeria. This article succinctly explains the dichotomy amongst aptitude, intelligence, and
achievement tests. It also looks at the value of aptitude tests and examines how the results of aptitude should be
used. The article presents a brief history of aptitude testing movement in Nigeria with the problems and progress
so far made by the aptitude testing in Nigeria in the 21st century. The article maintains that the available tests
especially the indigenous tests are too few to address the concerns of the people of Nigeria. It has been observed
that the range of aptitude tests in Africa especially in Nigeria is restricted to clinical purposes. The article
stresses that the widespread malpractice in tertiary institutions in Nigeria is traceable to faulty method and
interpretation of aptitude test result which has resulted in a situation where the use of formal examination as
basis for determining the level of candidates’ proficiency at absorbing, reproducing and applying knowledge has
become impossible. The paper emphasizes that the interpretations that are put on aptitude test results as fatalistic
predictor of subsequent achievement create a lot of problem and calls for a critical rethink by the 21st
psychometric experts