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…

The Work Personality Profile-Self Report (WPP-SR) is a self-report work behavior instrument for use in situational assessment in work centers, comprehensive facilities, and employment settings. The WPP-SR assesses work attitudes, values, habits, and behaviors that are essential to the achievement and maintenance of employment. It consists of 58…

A study evaluated preparatory methods of developing competence to become certified as an Iowa Fire Fighter I. Hypotheses were that no significant differences in written examination scores would be found when comparing structured learning with self-study preparation or when comparing candidate gender; a significant difference would be found in…

The article deals with personnel problems associated with the status of employment testing practices as affected by equal employment opportunity legislation. A coordinated effort by business, government, and education is needed to provide clear step-by-step guidelines. (EA)

The Employability Maturity Interview (EMI) is a 10-item structured interview developed to assess readiness for the vocational rehabilitation planning process and the need for additional vocational exploration and employability services. The items deal with occupational choice, self-appraisal of abilities, self-appraisal of personality…

The Work Performance Assessment (WPA) is a brief work simulation designed to evaluate job maintenance skills, emphasizing work-related social/interpersonal skills rather than specific vocational skills. The WPA uses three work samples involving sorting of food service items to measure 19 common work demands in four categories: responding to…

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire sent to 211 Measurement Services Association members. Sixty-four centers responded. The main purpose of the questionnaire was to find out what hardware and software are used by testing centers throughout the country. Results indicate that 52 institutions use mainframe computers, 50 use…

The Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) project is a joint Armed Services coordinated effort to develop and evaluate a system for automated, adaptive administration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The CAT is a system for administering personnel tests that differs from conventional test administration in two major…

A classification scheme for job performance measurement was developed by the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory (AFHRL) for development of individual job performance measures to validate Air Force selection and classification procedures. The job performance literature indicates that previous research relied heavily on broad-based generic…