1)Why are tests and other screening tools an important aspect of
employee selection? What rights do test takers have during the
testing process? Answer:
Once you review your applicants' résumés, the next step is
selecting the best candidates for the job, which is where testing
and other screening tools become important. Employers narrow the
applicant pool by using the screening tools such as tests,
assessment centers, and background and reference checks. Then
the supervisor can interview likely candidates and decide who to
hire. Nothing you do at work is more important than hiring the
right employees. It is important for three main reasons:
performance, costs, and legal obligations. Test takers have rights
to privacy and feedback under the American Psychological
Association's (APA) standard for educational and psychological
tests; these guide psychologists but are not legally enforceable.
Test takers have the right to the confidentiality of test results, the
right to informed consent regarding use of these results, the right
to expect that only people qualified to interpret the scores will have
access to them, or that sufficient information will accompany the
scores to ensure their appropriate interpretation and the right to
expect the test is fair to all. For example, no one taking it should
have prior access to the questions or answers.
2)What is test validity? How are selection tests validated? Answer:
Test validity answers the question "Does this test measure what it's
supposed to measure?" Put another way, validity refers to the
correctness of the inferences that we can make based on the test.
With employee selection tests, validity often refers to evidence that
the test is job related—in other words, that performance on the test
is a valid predictor of job performance. Selection tests are validated
by a five step process: analyze the job, choose the tests, administer
the test, relate test scores to criteria, and revalidate the test.
3)What is the difference between criterion validity and content
validity? Which one is more difficult to demonstrate? Answer:
Criterion validity means demonstrating that those who do well on
the test also do well on the job and those that do poorly on the test
do poorly on the job. Employers can demonstrate content validity of
a test by showing that the test constitutes a fair sample of the
content of the job. If the content on the test is representative of
what the person needs to know for the job, then the test is probably
content valid. Demonstrating content validity sounds easier than it
is in practice. Demonstrating that (1) the tasks the person performs
on the test are really a comprehensive and random sample of the
tasks performed on the job and (2) the conditions under which the
person takes the test resemble the work situation is not always
easy. For many jobs, employers opt to demonstrate other evidence
of a test's validity—most often, criterion validity.
