Compares and factor analyzes the Career Decision Scale and Vocational Decision-Making Difficulty Scale. Subjects included undergraduates who were satisfied with their career choices and those who were unsure, dissatisfied, or undecided about theirs. Both scales seem promising. (CKJ)

This study examined (1) the comparative validity of a written job knowledge test constructed on the basis of a systematic job analysis with that of a commercial employment test selected without prior job analysis and (2) the fairness of each test for minority and nonminority job applicants. (Editor/SJL)

Self-regulation of agencies administering professional licensing and certification tests is questioned on social and legal grounds. Topics include test validity concerns of applicants, extension of "truth in testing" legislation, explicitness of standards, and whether construct validity should be the primary requirement for selecting a…

Reviews history and application of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to argue that adverse impact definition of test discrimination embodied in unanimous 1971 Supreme Court decision in Griggs versus Duke Power Company and its progeny is the product of successful advocacy of unelected bureaucrats rather than a product of public…

Draws from validity generalization research to summarize evidence disputing theories that objective employment tests are either biased against minorities or lack utility. Argues that group differences in test scores do not result from deficiencies in tests, but in skills they measure. Suggests that measurement-based research does not provide…

The implications for educational and employment testing of recent measurement, social, and policy issues are compared and contrasted. Changes are proposed relative to technical conceptualization of assessment, an increased focus on performance-based evaluation, and expanded expectations and uses of assessment. (SLD)

Examines the relationship between male U.S. Navy recruits' background characteristics and successful outcomes in the form of completion of obligated service, promotion, or retention. Concludes that high school graduates, recruits with higher test scores, African-American and Hispanic recruits, and those admitted through the Navy's Delayed Entry…

Examines five themes in "Testing for Competence Rather than for "Intelligence" (D. C. McClelland, "American Psychologist," 1973), and reviews relevant literature. Despite wide acceptance of McClelland's views, other evidence that does not show that competency testing surpasses cognitive ability testing in predicting…

Teacher testing has not enhanced the quality of the American teaching force, but rather has had a negligible effect on the quality of the White teacher force while diminishing the minority teacher-candidate pool. The new assessment policies and practices that exclude minorities are in direct conflict with democratic ideals. (MSE)

Whether traditional Likert-type focus of attention at work scales would outperform the one-item scales developed by D. Gardner and others (1989) was studied with responses of 492 automobile-services-club employees. Confirmatory factor analysis did not show either method to be better empirically. Situations in which the one-item scale might be…

Setting pass/fail cutoffs that accurately reflect physical ability required for job performance is a key consideration for public-sector employment testing. Top-down ranking is less appropriate than job-performance expectancy banding. (SK)

Testing and individual assessment before hiring or promoting can ensure high performance and ward off turnover. The proper job/person match can best be made by analyzing job requirements, selecting useful tests, and analyzing test results and tailoring assessment to the client. Other issues include coping with legal challenges and selecting a…

As many management personnel decisions are subject to legal review today, managers cannot afford to make assumptions. The author discusses management behaviors in the treatment and testing of employees and offers some positive steps for managers to take in personnel reviews. (MF)

Two new indices of stability of content-referenced standard-setting results are presented, relating variability of judges' decisions to the variability of candidate scores and to the reliability of the test. These indices are used to indicate whether scores resulting from a standard-setting study are of sufficient precision. (Author/LMO)

The purpose of this study was to use multivariate techniques in a federally-regulated validation study, and compare the results obtained from zero-order correlations and multiple correlations with the results obtained using factor scores and canonical correlation. The subjects consisted of 51 applicants for the position of patrolman. (Author/CTM)