What is the term for tests that are not perfect measures of behavior but aid in prediction?

The correct answer is ability tests. These tests are designed to assess an individual's potential to perform specific tasks or exhibit certain behaviors. They are not flawless indicators, meaning that they may not capture the full complexity of an individual's capabilities or predict behavior with absolute certainty. However, ability tests can offer valuable insights into how well a person may perform in various contexts or situations, thus aiding in prediction.

In the field of psychometrics, while performance tests evaluate how well individuals can perform tasks, ability tests focus more on the underlying capacities that can be useful for those tasks. Diagnostic tests are aimed at identifying specific issues or conditions rather than predicting future behavior or performance. Criterion-referenced tests assess an individual's performance against a specific criterion or standard rather than against the performance of a group. Therefore, ability tests align most closely with the intention of providing predictive insights about behavior based on an assessment of innate or learned capabilities.