CODESP Applicant Screening and Evaluation 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A city uses a scored application to screen applicants. Which element MOST strengthens the defensibility of this approach?
- Including questions about salary history
- Weighting items based on job analysis findings (Correct answer)
- Asking about educational background regardless of job requirements
- Using a single overall impression rating
Correct answer: Weighting items based on job analysis findings
Basing application item weights on job analysis data directly links the screening instrument to documented job requirements, providing the strongest evidence of job-relatedness.
Question 2: Which assessment center exercise is specifically designed to evaluate an applicant's ability to manage written correspondence, emails, and documents typical of the position?
- Leaderless group discussion
- Role-play simulation
- In-basket exercise (Correct answer)
- Presentation exercise
Correct answer: In-basket exercise
An in-basket exercise presents candidates with a set of realistic written materials (memos, emails, reports) and asks them to prioritize and respond, simulating the document management demands of the job.
Question 3: Under the Uniform Guidelines, an employer is NOT required to validate a selection procedure if:
- The procedure is a written test
- There is no adverse impact and the procedure is not challenged (Correct answer)
- The position has fewer than 10 incumbents
- The test was developed by an outside vendor
Correct answer: There is no adverse impact and the procedure is not challenged
The Uniform Guidelines state that validation is required when adverse impact is found; if no adverse impact exists and the procedure is not legally challenged, formal validation documentation is not required.
Question 4: Which term describes using validity evidence from studies conducted elsewhere (other organizations or jurisdictions) to support the use of a selection procedure in a new setting?
- Synthetic validity
- Validity generalization (meta-analysis)
- Transportability of validity evidence (Correct answer)
- Construct validity
Correct answer: Transportability of validity evidence
Transportability of validity evidence allows an organization to use documented validity studies from other settings, provided there is evidence that the job and context are sufficiently similar.
Question 5: Which legal principle requires that a selection procedure must be the least discriminatory alternative capable of meeting the employer's legitimate needs?
- Reasonable accommodation
- Business necessity (Correct answer)
- Disparate treatment doctrine
- Bona fide occupational qualification
Correct answer: Business necessity
Business necessity requires that a selection procedure be essential to safe and efficient job performance, and courts may require employers to consider whether less discriminatory alternatives exist.
Question 6: When establishing a passing score (cutoff) for a civil service examination, the 'modified Angoff' method involves:
- Setting the cutoff at the mean score of the applicant pool
- Subject matter experts estimating the probability that a minimally qualified candidate answers each item correctly (Correct answer)
- Selecting the top percentage of scorers regardless of raw score
- Using the standard error of measurement to create a score band
Correct answer: Subject matter experts estimating the probability that a minimally qualified candidate answers each item correctly
In the modified Angoff method, panelists of subject matter experts independently estimate the probability that a minimally competent candidate would answer each test item correctly, and the average estimates are summed to set the cutoff.
Question 7: Which of the following is a key advantage of using structured over unstructured interviews in public sector hiring?
- Structured interviews allow for more natural conversation
- Structured interviews have higher predictive validity and are more legally defensible (Correct answer)
- Structured interviews are less time-consuming to develop
- Structured interviews allow interviewers to probe any topic freely
Correct answer: Structured interviews have higher predictive validity and are more legally defensible
Research consistently shows that structured interviews yield higher predictive validity coefficients than unstructured interviews and provide a stronger legal defense because all candidates are evaluated on the same criteria.
CODESP Applicant Screening and Evaluation 5
A city uses a scored application to screen applicants.
Which element MOST strengthens the defensibility of this approach?