The Ball Foundation was founded in 1975 by Carl Ball, president of Geo. G. Ball Inc (now Ball Horticultural Company), and his wife Vivian Elledge Ball. Their interest in aptitudes began in the 1960s when they became close friends with Johnson O’Connor, a psychometrician who had designed aptitude tests for use in business and industry. Carl and Vivian quickly recognized the importance of aptitudes and engaged in the testing themselves.
“We discovered things about ourselves and each other that we didn’t know,” Carl once reflected. “Those insights helped us better appreciate each other’s strengths and differences and deepened our relationship. We were so impressed by our experience that we wanted to help others gain self-knowledge as well.”
In 1975, following O’Connor’s death, Carl and Vivian established The Ball Foundation.
Mission of The Ball Foundation:
- Conduct research on the identification and measurement of human aptitudes and their relationship to academic or vocational success and satisfaction
- Disseminate research findings to professionals in the fields of psychology, education, vocational counseling, and psychometrics
- Make these aptitude measurements available to qualified end users in a manner that will facilitate data collection for research and provide aptitude-based career planning services to the community, as well as research for the career development field
The Ball Aptitude Battery® (BAB™) was first published in 1981 with 16 ability tests. Inclusion in Tests in Print and Mental Measurements Yearbook quickly established the Ball Aptitude Battery as one of the premier multi-aptitude batteries in existence. Subsequent aptitude validation research resulted in dozens of technical reports supporting the validity and usefulness of the battery in career planning.
Since its inception the Foundation has continued its work on aptitudes and has published research in professional journal publications, presented at national conferences, and received professional awards based on validation research. The BAB has migrated successfully from paper-pencil assessments to a computerized version of the Ball Aptitude Battery.
In 1985, the Ball Foundation established Career Vision℠ to provide personalized aptitude-based career planning services. Career Vision’s focus on aptitude-based career planning has helped thousands of individuals and families make informed career choices.