APPLYING RANGE RESTRICTION CORRECTIONS USING PUBLISHED NORMS: THREE CASE STUDIES

This study evaluated the accuracy of range restriction corrections. Initial range restriction corrections used published norms as a proxy for unrestricted applicant data. The accuracy of the initial correction was evaluated using two large independent follow-up samples ( n = 983 and n = 1,389). The author found the initial norm-based correction to be very consistent with empirical findings. The application of these findings to range restriction corrections with customized (i.e., non-published) selection tests is also discussed.     

Job Personalization and the Vocational Exploration Group

A new way to explore the world of work has evolved after several years of field testing with employment service applicants and high school youth. The method uses small-sized groups and structured interaction with a sequenced program for job search and planning. In a recent experimental-control study concurrent in eight different states, the group members were found to have gained twice the number of jobs, gained in positive employability perceptions, and showed reduced social alienation. The groups are conducted for five members at a time. The short program takes two hours; the long program takes five sessions of three-quarters of an hour each. Group leaders are prepared by trainers who have also been leaders. The training is experiential, with skills acquired through group interaction largely in the form of “circle games” (participative exercises developed for this program), by roleplaying, by observations, by helping others to learn, and by actually conducting a group with live members.     

EXPLORING OPTIONS FOR SUPPORTING TEST USE IN SITUATIONS PRECLUDING LOCAL VALIDATION

This paper examines some of the options available to practitioners interested in supporting the use of selection measures in an organization, including test transportability, validity generalization (VG), and synthetic validation, reviewing some of the advantages, disadvantages and requirements of each approach. Results of four unpublished, proprietary validation studies are reported which compare validity estimates provided by the job component validation (JCV; a type of synthetic validation) routine inherent in the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) with observed validity coefficients for a variety of criterion measures. We then examine the accuracy of the JCV procedure in predicting validity coefficients for 51 clerical classifications extracted from an existing PAQ job evaluation database of a large utility company. Predicted JCVs are compared to mean observed validity coefficients for five DOT clerical categories provided by Pearlman, Schmidt, and Hunter (1980). The VG and JCV methods provided highly similar and converging estimates of the validity of cognitive ability tests for predicting performance in clerical occupations. Implications for practice are discussed, particularly the need to use multiple, converging lines of evidence to support test use.     

EXAMINING SELECTION UTILITY WHERE COMPETING PREDICTORS DIFFER IN ADVERSE IMPACT

This paper discusses the roles of validity, cut score choice, and adverse impact on selection system utility using data from two concurrent validation studies. We contrast an assessment center and published aptitude test on several metrics, including validity, testing costs, adverse impact, and utility. The assessment center produced slightly lower validity than the aptitude test while costing roughly 10 times as much per candidate. In spite of these advantages for the aptitude test, the assessment center produced so much less adverse impact its operational utility would be higher given cut scores likely to be chosen in this organization. Potential concerns with applying net utility models to this type of situation are discussed in comparison to gross utility models.     

GENERALIZING PHYSICAL ABILITY TEST VALIDITY: A CASE STUDY USING TEST TRANSPORTABILITY, VALIDITY GENERALIZATION, AND CONSTRUCT-RELATED VALIDATION EVIDENCE

This paper describes a field study using Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ; McCormick, Jeanneret, & Mecham, 1972) data to support inferences of physical ability test (PAT) validity at a large utility company. The project developed a test transportability procedure using worker-oriented job analysis, and was based on synthesizing the findings of an earlier consortium project (American Gas Association, 1990), recent validity generalization evidence, and findings from a variety of physical ability construct-related research projects published or presented since the completion of the original consortium study. Selected PAQ divisional dimension scores for 95 jobs were analyzed via cluster analysis to develop five physical demand job families. Statistically derived job families were modified very slightly based on reviews by subject matter experts who found PAQ-derived job family structures quite reasonable (agreement of 95% between statistical and rational procedures). PAQ strength attributes were used to estimate the physical demands underlying job families. The statistical and analytic procedures developed and reported here could be applied in other organizational settings, and allow broader applicability of the PAT than would a task-based transportability model.