SQ Minus EQ can Predict Programming Aptitude

Students from an introductory programming class were given several tests in an attempt to establish whether any of their test scores correlated well with their measured programming ability. It was discovered that, when used in combination, the Autism Research Centre’s SQ [1] and EQ [2] tests showed a high correlation (r = .67) with a test for programming ability. Individually, SQ and EQ show moderate correlation (r = .44 and r = -.45 respectively) with this programming test. In contrast, for this group of students, Dehnadi and Bornat’s test [3] and a self-rank test could not be used to successfully predict programming ability.