Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain what is meant by reliability and validity.
2. Explain how to validate a test.
3. Cite and illustrate different testing guidelines.
4. Give examples of some of the ethical and legal considerations in
testing.
5. List tests you could use for employee selection, and how you
would use them.
6. Explain the key points to remember in conducting background
investigations.
Importance of testing and selecting
employees
Organizational performance-The performance of the firm depends on
employees having the right skills and attributes. Thus, they have to be tested for
these skills and attributes
Hiring Employees is costly-There are a lot of costs involved in hiring an
employee (interviewing time, interviewing cost, supervisor time, training cost
etc.) If they leave suddenly after this, then the cost is a huge loss for the
company
Legal Obligations - Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws state that
the same testing and selection procedure has to be followed for everyone
If testing and selection is not done properly, and hired employee commits a
crime within the company, then company is to blame, not the employee for
negligent hiring
Basic Testing Concepts
Reliability
Refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when
retested with the identical or equivalent test i.e. Are the test results stable
over time
Ex- A person gets 7 on IELTS on Sunday, and 3 on Monday. So, IELTS is not
a reliable test
Validity
The accuracy with which the test measures what it is supposed to measure or
fulfills the function it was designed to fill
A test has to be valid, i.e. measure what it’s supposed to measure, otherwise
it’s not useful
Ex- IELTS has to measure English language proficiency, not business skill
proficiency
Types of Validity
Criterion validity: Validity based on showing that test scores (predictors) are
related to job performance (criterion)
Ex- Do test scores in this class provide a proper indication of a student’s HR
performance?
Content validity: A test that is content valid is one that contains a fair sample
of the tasks and skills actually needed for the job
Ex- Do exam questions in this course provide a proper simulation of the work
of an HR professional?
How to Validate a Test
Step 1: Analyze the job
Define Predictors: The human traits and skills that you believe predict job
performance (KSA’s such as communication skills, good time management)
Define Standards: Ex- Minimum sales of $25000/month, <5 defects per day
Step 2: Choose the tests
Test battery (combining different tests) or single test
Step 3: Administer the test
Run the test to see whether test scores are correlated with job performance
Two ways to administer the test
• Concurrent validation
• Predictive validation
Concurrent Validation
Run the test on current employees. Compare test scores with
their current performance data
Advantage: Performance data of current employees is readily
available
Disadvantage: Current employees are not a good representation
of new employees (for whom you are developing the test.) They
have been given training, and are used to the firm’s culture
Predictive Validation
Run the test on job candidates (not employees). For example,
make candidates sit for a written test and an interview, but only
use the interview for hiring. The written test is the experimental
test (for purposes of checking validation)
How to Validate a Test (cont’d)
Step 4: Relate Test Scores and Criteria
Later, compare their on-the-job performance (assuming they
have been hired) with the earlier test scores. Is there any
relation?
If there is, then the test can be used to predict job performance
(gives a good estimate of performance on the job) i.e. the test is
valid
This is usually done by an expectancy chart (plotting it on a
graph and finding the relationship)
Step 5: Cross-Validate and Revalidate: Repeat Step 3 and
4 with a different sample of employees to make sure results are
accurate
Expectancy Chart
Note: This expectancy chart shows the relation between scores made on the Minnesota
Paper Form Board and rated success of junior draftspersons. Example: Those who score
between 37 and 44 have a 55% chance of being rated above average and those scoring
between 57 and 64 have a 97% chance. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
Testing and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) law
Use of testing
More testing is used as work demands increase.
Screen out bad or dishonest employees
Reduce turnover by personality profiling © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
Types of Tests
Cognitive Ability Tests (Information Processing-
Related)
Intelligence Tests: Tests of general intellectual abilities
such as memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, and
numerical ability such as IQ tests
Aptitude tests: Tests that measure specific mental
abilities, such as inductive and deductive reasoning,
specific mathematical calculations (calculus etc.),
specialized mechanical knowledge etc.
Source: Reproduced by permission. Copyright 1967, 1969 by The Psychological Corporation, New York, NY. All rights
reserved. Author’s note: 1969 is the latest copyright on this test, which is still the main one used for this purpose. Figure 6–5
6–15
Measuring Personality and Interests
Personality test: Tests that use psychological techniques and behavior
analysis to measure aspects of an applicant’s personality
Can be Open-ended- Picture Essay writing, or “First word that comes to
your mind when you see this” etc.
Can be Structured-MBTI, Big five personality dimension
Advantage:
Can give detailed analysis of an employee’s mind that was not possible to
know through other tests
Disadvantage:
Open-ended personality tests are very difficult to measure and use (you might
need a psychologist. Also, proving validity is difficult, very subjective)
https://www.16personalities.com/ check your personality
The “Big Five” Personality Dimensions
Extraversion: The nature of being sociable, assertive, active, outgoing and “full of
life”. People who are high in extraversion tend to experience positive effects such as
energy and zeal.
Emotional stability/neuroticism: The level of emotional stability and proneness to
anxiety, insecurity, moodiness and depression (sometimes hostility) without any
apparent reason
Openness to experience: The nature of being imaginative, nonconforming,
unconventional, and autonomous. This trait features characteristics such as
imagination and insight, and those high in this trait tend to have a broad range of
interests (not fixed and rigid)
Agreeableness: This personality dimension includes attributes such as
trust, generosity, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. The tendency to
be trusting, warm, caring, and gentle.
Conscientiousness: The nature of being careful, thorough, orderly and detail-
oriented. Considering all aspects before making a decision 6–17
Other types of Tests
Interest inventories: Comparing interests of an employee (such as
golfing, watching movies, going to parties) with other successful
employees in similar occupations to see if there is a match.
If there is a match, employee is probably a good fit for the position
Logic is that people in a certain kind of job have certain kind of
interests
Achievement tests: Tests that measure what someone has actually
learned (such as written tests (after a training), skill demonstrations
(typing tests etc)
references.
© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 6–27
The Polygraph and Honesty Testing
The polygraph: A device that measures physiological changes,
The assumption is that such changes reflect changes in emotional
state that accompany lying.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988.
Prohibits employers (in most cases) from conducting polygraph
examinations of all job applicants and most employees.