The MENO series comprises a broad collection of records that document the development of thinking skills qualifications at UCLES, starting with the Law Studies Aptitude Tests, and going on to the Higher Studies Tests, Academic Aptitude Test and eventually the MENO Thinking Skills Service qualifications.
Between 1965 and 1976 various studies on aptitude testing were undertaken in the UK and in 1987 UCLES administered the first of an annual series of Law Studies Tests designed for prospective law students who wished to know if they possessed the kinds of abilities demanded by law schools. The development of the test was carried out in collaboration with the Law School Admission Services in the United States, which had previous experience in developing testing for university applicants across the continent where interviewing was not practical due to the distances involved.
At the same time UCLES was considering the idea of a general test of academic aptitude which would be useful for students entering other fields of study. Alec Fisher of the University of East Anglia was commissioned by UCLES to carry out research and development work on this idea, the result of which was the Higher Studies Test, developed in 1990 as part of the Thinking Skills Project.
In 1991 - 1992 consideration was given to other names for the test including the Higher Education Aptitude Profile (HEAP) and the Academic Aptitude profile (AAP). The umbrella title of the MENO Thinking Skills Service was first used in 1992. Meno was a pupil of Socrates who asked Socrates to propound his theory of knowledge as a property of memory and recollection already possessed by the individual. The aim of the service was to identify and develop skills which individuals naturally possess, and to encourage employers and educational institutions to recognize and reward those skills.
The MENO Thinking Skills Service was based on the evaluation of six inter-related skills: communication, literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, understanding argument and numerical and spatial operations, together with academic and personal effectiveness. The scheme became available to schools in 1994.