[IPAC-List] Measurement education

[Partain, Steven C.]

Thanks, everyone, for providing so many insightful comments and tips--these will truly affect how I guide our practices moving forward.  Above all, it's nice to know I'm not alone in the wilderness on such things!

Steven Partain 
HR Manager
Human Resources 
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue 
11945 SW 70th Avenue, Tigard, Oregon 97223
www.tvfr.com 
Ph. 503-259-1292 

-----Original Message-----
From: ipac-list-bounces at ipacweb.org [mailto:ipac-list-bounces at ipacweb.org] On Behalf Of Michael McDaniel (WSF)
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:42 AM
To: Mark Hammer
Cc: IPAC-List at ipacweb.org
Subject: Re: [IPAC-List] Measurement education

I wish I had seen this exchange a few years ago when I helped write a book chapter on criticisms of employment testing. You can a copy here:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~mamcdani/Publications/O%27Boyle%20&%20McDaniel%20%282008%29.pdf

Best wishes,

Mike McDaniel

On Fri, Oct 26, 2012 at 11:50 AM, Mark Hammer <Mark.Hammer at psc-cfp.gc.ca>wrote:


> 1) You're right about that, Jeff.  Nice to see some chatter for a 

> change!

>

> 2) Great comments all round.  I like David's examples.

>

> 3) When people are promoted, they move to a different role, not simply 

> a higher standard of behaviour.  When supervisors think they see 

> appropriate potential in certain candidates that goes "under-endorsed"

> by test results, their working assumption is that the test is the 

> problem, their focus being on false positives, which they treat as 

> false alarms (pardon the firefighting pun).  But that assumption is 

> based on what they believe they have already seen from some 

> candidates, and have not seen YET from others.

>

> Not to suggest that the tests lack validity, but people can surprise 

> you.  They can rise to the occasion, when placed in a role they may 

> not have had before.  Do the particular tests predict that well?  I 

> don't know, but the managers in this instance may well be treating the 

> surprising ranking of some individuals on the selection tests as false 

> *positives*, neglecting that their informal observation of those same 

> candidates may well be a false *negative*.

>

> It may well be that the tests are inappropriately chosen or weighted, 

> that the conceptual space being considered for the job is much larger 

> than what the assessment tools measure, that there is bias in managers'

> beliefs or perceptions of some candidates.  It could be a lot of things.

>  All should be considered, including the possibility that the tests 

> are able to identify things that managers have not yet seen.

>

> Mark Hammer

> Ottawa

>

> >

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--
*Ten Free Employment Tests Per Month*
www.workskillsfirst.com

Michael A. McDaniel, Ph.D.
President
Work Skills First, Inc.
Voice: 804-277-9730
E-Mail: McDaniel at WorkSkillsFirst.com
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