CODESP Pre-Employment Assessment and Testing — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), which statistical threshold is commonly used to determine if adverse impact exists?

The 2/3 rule
The 4/5ths (80%) rule (Correct answer)
The 1/2 rule
The 90% rule

Correct answer: The 4/5ths (80%) rule

The 4/5ths (80%) rule states that adverse impact is indicated when the selection rate for a protected group is less than 80% of the rate for the highest-selected group.

Question 2: Which type of validity evidence is gathered by correlating test scores with a measure of job performance obtained at the same time?

Predictive validity
Concurrent validity (Correct answer)
Content validity
Construct validity

Correct answer: Concurrent validity

Concurrent validity is established by administering a test to current employees and correlating scores with existing performance measures simultaneously.

Question 3: A structured interview differs from an unstructured interview primarily because it:

Requires more interviewers
Uses the same questions and scoring rubric for all candidates (Correct answer)
Focuses exclusively on behavioral history
Is conducted remotely via video

Correct answer: Uses the same questions and scoring rubric for all candidates

Structured interviews use standardized questions and scoring criteria applied consistently to every candidate, which increases reliability and reduces bias.

Question 4: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) restricts pre-employment medical examinations to which phase of the hiring process?

Before any interview is conducted
Before a conditional offer of employment is made
After a conditional offer of employment has been extended (Correct answer)
After the employee has completed 90 days of work

Correct answer: After a conditional offer of employment has been extended

Under the ADA, medical exams may only be required after a conditional job offer has been made, not before, to prevent disability discrimination.

Question 5: Which statistical concept describes the degree to which a selection test consistently produces the same results across repeated administrations?

Validity
Reliability (Correct answer)
Utility
Specificity

Correct answer: Reliability

Reliability refers to the consistency of a measurement instrument; a reliable test produces stable scores under the same conditions.

Question 6: A cognitive ability test used for a clerical position is found to have lower pass rates for Hispanic applicants compared to White applicants. The employer's best first step is to:

Immediately discontinue the test
Conduct a job analysis to determine if the test is job-related (Correct answer)
Lower the cut score for all applicants
Report the finding to the EEOC voluntarily

Correct answer: Conduct a job analysis to determine if the test is job-related

When adverse impact is detected, the employer should first conduct a job analysis to evaluate whether the test measures abilities genuinely required by the job.

Question 7: The 'banding' technique in test score interpretation is used primarily to:

Rank candidates strictly by raw score
Group candidates whose scores are within a statistically indistinguishable range (Correct answer)
Eliminate bottom-scoring candidates before interviews
Convert raw scores to percentile ranks

Correct answer: Group candidates whose scores are within a statistically indistinguishable range

Banding treats scores within a statistically equivalent range as equal, allowing employers to consider other factors among candidates within the same band.

Question 8: Which component of a job analysis provides the foundation for establishing the content validity of a selection test?

Compensation benchmarking
Identification of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) (Correct answer)
Organizational chart review
Market salary surveys

Correct answer: Identification of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs)

Content validity requires demonstrating that test content represents the KSAOs identified as critical through a systematic job analysis.

Question 9: A situational judgment test (SJT) presents candidates with:

Abstract reasoning puzzles unrelated to the job
Hypothetical work scenarios requiring a response choice (Correct answer)
Open-ended essay questions about career goals
Timed arithmetic calculations

Correct answer: Hypothetical work scenarios requiring a response choice

SJTs describe realistic work situations and ask candidates to choose or rank responses, assessing judgment and decision-making relevant to the job.

Question 10: Under CODESP guidelines, a passing score (cut score) on a civil service exam should ideally be set based on:

The score that yields the largest applicant pool
The minimum level of knowledge or skill needed to perform the job satisfactorily (Correct answer)
The median score of the current workforce
The score recommended by the test vendor without modification

Correct answer: The minimum level of knowledge or skill needed to perform the job satisfactorily

Cut scores should reflect the minimum competency level required for acceptable job performance, grounded in job analysis data.

Question 11: Which federal law requires that pre-employment polygraph tests are generally prohibited for most private-sector employers?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) (Correct answer)
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The Privacy Act of 1974

Correct answer: The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) of 1988 prohibits most private employers from requiring, requesting, or using polygraph tests for pre-employment screening.

Question 12: An 'assessment center' in public-sector hiring most commonly refers to:

A physical building where all HR functions are centralized
A multi-method evaluation process using simulations, exercises, and trained assessors (Correct answer)
An online portal for submitting job applications
A government-run career counseling office

Correct answer: A multi-method evaluation process using simulations, exercises, and trained assessors

Assessment centers use multiple simulation exercises (e.g., in-basket, leaderless group discussions) evaluated by trained assessors to predict managerial or supervisory performance.

Question 13: When a test developer reports a validity coefficient of r = 0.35 for a selection test, this value indicates:

35% of applicants passed the test
The test explains 35% of variance in job performance
A moderate positive relationship between test scores and job performance (Correct answer)
The test has a 35% error rate

Correct answer: A moderate positive relationship between test scores and job performance

A validity coefficient of r = 0.35 represents a moderate positive correlation between predictor scores and criterion performance, which is considered practically meaningful in selection research.

Question 14: The primary purpose of a 'test plan' in developing a civil service examination is to:

Set the budget for administering the exam
Map test items to job-relevant KSAOs with specified weights and item counts (Correct answer)
Schedule exam administration dates
Determine applicant eligibility criteria

Correct answer: Map test items to job-relevant KSAOs with specified weights and item counts

A test plan (or test blueprint) specifies which KSAOs will be tested, the proportion of items per area, and the difficulty distribution, ensuring systematic content coverage.

Question 15: Which type of reliability is estimated by administering the same test to the same group on two separate occasions and correlating the scores?

Internal consistency reliability
Inter-rater reliability
Test-retest reliability (Correct answer)
Parallel forms reliability

Correct answer: Test-retest reliability

Test-retest reliability measures score stability over time by correlating two administrations of the same test to the same individuals.

Question 16: The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires employers conducting background checks through a consumer reporting agency to:

Obtain a court order before requesting the report
Provide written disclosure and obtain written authorization from the applicant (Correct answer)
Submit findings to the Department of Labor
Complete the check within 48 hours of a job offer

Correct answer: Provide written disclosure and obtain written authorization from the applicant

FCRA mandates that employers give applicants a clear disclosure document and obtain written consent before ordering a background check from a consumer reporting agency.

Question 17: In the context of pre-employment testing, 'differential item functioning' (DIF) analysis is used to:

Calculate the cost per hire for each selection method
Identify test items that perform differently across demographic groups after controlling for ability level (Correct answer)
Rank candidates by total score
Determine whether a test is timed appropriately

Correct answer: Identify test items that perform differently across demographic groups after controlling for ability level

DIF analysis detects items that favor one group over another among examinees of equal ability, indicating potential item bias that should be reviewed.

Question 18: A city fire department requires all applicants to pass a physical ability test (PAT). To minimize legal risk, the PAT should be designed to:

Maximize the physical challenge to screen out weaker candidates
Simulate the critical physical demands identified through job analysis (Correct answer)
Use national norms rather than local job requirements
Be identical to tests used by neighboring jurisdictions

Correct answer: Simulate the critical physical demands identified through job analysis

Physical ability tests must be grounded in job analysis that identifies critical physical tasks, ensuring the test measures job-relevant demands rather than arbitrary fitness levels.

Question 19: Which concept refers to the proportion of future employees who would be successful if selected using a given assessment?

Base rate
Selection ratio
Positive predictive value (success rate) (Correct answer)
Criterion-related validity

Correct answer: Positive predictive value (success rate)

Positive predictive value (success rate) is the proportion of selected candidates who turn out to be successful performers, reflecting the practical accuracy of the selection decision.

Question 20: An employer uses a 'multiple hurdles' selection approach, which means:

All assessments are combined into a single composite score
Candidates must pass each successive assessment to continue in the process (Correct answer)
The hiring manager has multiple veto options
Applicants can retake failed assessments unlimited times

Correct answer: Candidates must pass each successive assessment to continue in the process

In a multiple hurdles model, candidates must meet a minimum threshold on each successive assessment stage before advancing, ensuring only candidates who clear every requirement proceed.

Question 21: When a selection test is described as having 'incremental validity,' it means the test:

Is more difficult than competing assessments
Adds predictive accuracy beyond what is provided by existing selection tools (Correct answer)
Was validated on an incrementally larger sample
Produces scores that increase with candidate experience

Correct answer: Adds predictive accuracy beyond what is provided by existing selection tools

Incremental validity demonstrates that a new predictor adds statistically significant improvement in predicting job performance over and above predictors already in use.

CODESP Pre-Employment Assessment and Testing

Under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), which statistical threshold is commonly used to determine if adverse impact exists?

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