CODESP Pre-Employment Assessment and Testing 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A personnel agency uses a written exam for a public safety dispatcher role and finds the exam has significant adverse impact on female applicants. Which approach would best address this while maintaining job-relatedness?
- Use the exam only for male applicants
- Conduct a content validity study to confirm the exam measures critical dispatcher KSAOs and revise or replace items that are not job-related (Correct answer)
- Eliminate written exams entirely and use only oral interviews
- Lower the cut score by 10 points for female applicants only
Correct answer: Conduct a content validity study to confirm the exam measures critical dispatcher KSAOs and revise or replace items that are not job-related
Reviewing and revising the exam through content validity analysis ensures it measures only job-related KSAOs and may reduce unnecessary adverse impact while maintaining defensibility.
Question 2: According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 'construct validity' is best described as evidence that:
- The test items are sampled from the content domain of the job
- The test measures the psychological construct it is intended to measure (Correct answer)
- Test scores correlate with a job performance criterion
- The test was developed by a licensed psychologist
Correct answer: The test measures the psychological construct it is intended to measure
Construct validity is the extent to which a test measures the theoretical construct (e.g., conscientiousness, verbal reasoning) it is designed to assess.
Question 3: The 'utility analysis' of a selection procedure estimates:
- The legal defensibility of the test under Title VII
- The economic value or return on investment of using the selection procedure (Correct answer)
- The number of candidates needed to fill open positions
- Whether the test shows adverse impact against protected groups
Correct answer: The economic value or return on investment of using the selection procedure
Utility analysis quantifies the financial benefit of using a valid selection procedure compared to random selection or an alternative method, often expressed in dollar terms.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'inter-rater reliability' in a structured interview process?
- Consistency of scores when the same candidate is interviewed on different days
- Agreement between two or more independent raters evaluating the same candidate responses (Correct answer)
- The correlation of interview scores with test scores
- The degree to which interview questions cover all job competencies
Correct answer: Agreement between two or more independent raters evaluating the same candidate responses
Inter-rater reliability measures the extent to which different raters assign consistent scores to the same candidate, indicating that scoring is objective and not rater-dependent.
Question 5: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on all of the following EXCEPT:
- Race and color
- National origin
- Religion
- Political affiliation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Political affiliation
Title VII protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, but political affiliation is not a protected class under this federal statute.
Question 6: A 'biodata' questionnaire used in pre-employment screening typically collects information about:
- An applicant's DNA and biometric data
- Life history experiences and background events predictive of job performance (Correct answer)
- Medical history and physical fitness metrics
- Social media activity and online presence
Correct answer: Life history experiences and background events predictive of job performance
Biodata instruments gather objective, verifiable life history information (e.g., past achievements, activities) that research has linked to job success criteria.
Question 7: Which of the following is a key requirement of the CODESP cooperative model for public agencies sharing examination resources?
- Each agency must independently validate every shared exam
- Participating agencies agree to common testing standards and share validation research and test item banks (Correct answer)
- Only state-level agencies may participate in the cooperative
- Cooperative exams must be administered exclusively in-person at central testing sites
Correct answer: Participating agencies agree to common testing standards and share validation research and test item banks
CODESP operates as a cooperative where member agencies share validated test materials, job analysis data, and research, enabling cost-effective legally defensible selection without each agency independently developing full test batteries.
CODESP Pre-Employment Assessment and Testing 5
A personnel agency uses a written exam for a public safety dispatcher role and finds the exam has significant adverse impact on female applicants.
Which approach would best address this while maintaining job-relatedness?