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MARIAN POWER
A QUICK
GUIDE TO
HUMAN
RESOURCE
TESTING
Marian Power qualified as a psychologist in 1973, and has been registered since 1987. She has
worked as an organisational psychologist, equal opportunity manager and human resources
manager in federal, state and local government. Her roles encompassed recruitment and
selection, conflict resolution and management of grievances. Marian is currently employed as
consultant psychologist with the Australian Council for Educational Research providing advice
to psychologists and human resource professionals regarding the selection of the most
appropriate assessment instruments for their particular purpose. She also provides
accreditation training in the use of restricted tests.
Marian is an active member for the Australian Psychological Society, the College of
Organisational Psychologists, the Australian Association of Psychological Type, the Australian
Human Resources Institute and the Australian Association of Careers Counsellors.
A QUICK GUIDE TO
HUMAN RESOURCE TESTING
Can you afford to make the wrong recruitment selection decision?
The cost of a wrong selection decision can be up to one-and-a half times the salary of the job,
let alone the time taken in the re-hiring process.
Studies have shown that appropriate assessment tools enhance the chances of making a
good selection and recruitment decision. Testing is also important to the human resources
(HR) practitioner in a variety of other contexts, including team building, change management
and ongoing organisational needs.
A Quick Guide to Human Resource Testing is designed as an introduction, a refresher and a
quick reference guide for HR practitioners who use or plan to use assessment instruments in
any context. It includes explanations, tips, case studies and suggestions to help you get the
most out of your HR testing.
9
ISBN 0-86431-458-2
780864 314581
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MARIAN POWER
A QUICK
GUIDE TO
HUMAN
RESOURCE
TESTING
ACER Press
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First published 2004
by ACER Press
Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd
19 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124
Copyright © 2004 Marian Power
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions
described in the Copyright Act 1968 of
Australia and subsequent amendments, no part
of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the written permission of the publishers.
Edited by Ronél Redman
Cover and text design by Mason Design
Printed by bpa DIGITAL
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Power, Marian.
A quick guide to human resource testing.
ISBN 0 86431 458 2.
1. Employee selection - Australia - Handbooks, manuals, etc.
2. Employment tests - Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3.
Employees - Recruiting - Australia - Handbooks, manuals,
etc. 4. Employee selection - Law and legislation -
Australia. I. Title.
658.3110994
Visit our website: www.acerpress.com.au
Acknowledgement
In writing this guide, I would like to acknowledge the support I received from my husband, Adrian; and
Dominic, Stephen and Caithlin who freed computer time for me and provided encouragement.
Ralph Saubern, Test Publisher at ACER Press, offered frequent support and constructive advice. My
colleagues in Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management have shared their experience
over twenty-five years, which has been an invaluable addition to my formal learning. Thank you all.
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Contents
Introduction 1
Section 1:Test Selection and Administration
When to Use Tests
2
Recruitment/Selection
Organisational Development
Career Planning
Types of Tests 4
Ability and Aptitude Tests
Achievement Tests
Personality Assessments
Interest Inventories
Types of Test Questions 6
Response Type
Content Type
Test Formats 8
Questions
Answers
Score Keys
Computerised Testing
The Manual
Choosing the Most Appropriate Test – the Job 10
Selection Criteria
Job Level
Choosing the Most Appropriate Test –
the Practicalities
12
Time
Budget
Hand Scoring vs. Computer Scoring
Qualifications
Test Administration – Best Practice 14
Environment
Administrators
Getting Started
Using Aids
The Manual/User’s Guide
Collecting Materials
Section II:Test Interpretation
Statistics 1: The Basics
16
Normal Population
Mean
Range
Standard Deviation
Statistics 2: Test Scores 18
Changing a Raw Score to a Standardised Score
Percentile Ranks
Stens and Stanines
T-scores
Statistics 3: Reliability, Validity and
Measurement Errors
20
Reliability
Validity
Margins of Error
Section III: Reporting and Feedback
Reporting Results
22
Report Types
Using Reports for Feedback
Feedback to Candidates
Feedback to Managers
Section IV: Ethical and Legal Issues
Test Security and Candidates’ Rights
24
Equal Employment Opportunity
(EEO) Legislation
Discrimination in Testing
Direct and Indirect Discrimination
Appendix I: Frequently Asked Questions 26
Appendix II: Glossary 28
Appendix III:Tests and Selection Criteria Guide 29
Appendix IV: Annotated List of Tests 30
Ability, Aptitude and Skills
Personality
Interest Inventories
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Introduction
An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.
Those who are put in charge of recruiting and selecting new staff face a decision-making process that needs
to be responsible in its implementation and produce a positive outcome. The cost of a wrong selection
decision has been estimated to be anywhere between one and a half times and five times the salary of the
job in question. Think of the advertising costs, time spent reading through and short-listing applications,
interviewing, testing, sourcing referees and notifying unsuccessful candidates, for a start. Then the
successful applicant commences but is not working at full capacity for a number of months, with existing
staff taking time out to help train the new recruit. After all that effort, what if the person selected turns out
to be unsuitable for the position? The recruitment process starts all over again.
Therefore, getting the right candidate in the first place is well worth the effort!
It is important to investigate the most efficient and effective ways of conducting a selection process to
maximise the chances of a positive outcome. Testing is an important part of this process. Studies have
shown that the chances of making a good decision in recruiting or selecting staff are enhanced when
structured interviews are combined with objective comments from referees as well as appropriately chosen
assessment tools.
Testing is also important in a variety of other contexts, including team building, change management
and other ongoing organisational needs. Good practice and appropriate use of tests are as vital to these
areas as they are in the selection and recruitment of staff.
This book is designed as an introduction, a refresher and a quick reference guide for human resource
practitioners who use, or plan to use, assessment instruments in any context. I hope the explanations, tips,
case studies and suggestions help you form a solid base for sound testing practice, and encourage you to
read further about how testing can help you provide the best possible human resource services.
In the Appendices there is a section on frequently asked questions, a glossary of terms that will clarify
any technical jargon, suggestions for which test to use in particular selection contexts, and an annotated list
of tests together with icons that indicate appropriate usage areas.
Marian Power
1
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In human resource management, many decisions are made based on information that is gathered and
presented – for example, information about strategy planning, leave arrangements, observance of
occupational health and safety regulations. When dealing with important decision making regarding
people and the workplace, information should be gathered from all possible reliable sources.
HR practitioners use testing to collect reliable, objective information in order to optimise the decision-
making in a range of situations. Table 1 details some of these situations, which are further discussed below.
tests
When to use
Section I: Test Selection and Administration
2
Table 1: Using Testing in Human Resource Management
Recruitment/Selection Organisational Development Career Planning
Screening
Recruitment
Order of merit for ongoing selection
Staff development
Organisation development
Promotion
Team building
Change management
Career choice
Career change
Redundancy support
Succession planning
Recruitment/Selection
When a large number of applications is received for
an advertised vacancy, it is usual to eliminate the
first round on the basis of the applicant’s letter and
résumé; that is, those candidates who fail to
demonstrate that they adequately meet the
selection criteria. When there is still an abundance
of possible contenders, a screening test may be
used. Typically, such a test is of reasonably short
duration, may be administered to a large group
and assesses a common skill or ability required for
the position. The examiner, after consulting the
associated test manual, may decide to keep only
those candidates who score above a predetermined
cut-off score in the recruitment pool. Only these
candidates proceed to the next stage.
The next stage involves interviewing and more
specific testing – often two or more additional tests.
If only a small number of applicants applied for the
position, they should proceed directly to this stage.
Depending on individual preferences of the HR
practitioner and the selection committee, testing
can occur before the interviews, with only the best
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A Quick Guide to Human Resource Testing
3
performing candidates then being invited to an
interview. Alternatively, all candidates can be
interviewed and only the best performers tested.
The tests used in this phase are chosen because
they assess abilities, skills and attitudes that are
clearly related to the selection criteria for the job in
question. Verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning,
work style preference, manual dexterity, spatial
reasoning, and personality measures are examples
of tests that are commonly used. (See page 4 for
more detail.)
From these test results, organisations that have
almost continuous recruitment needs can use
candidates’ performance to compile an order of
merit for further reference. This allows for
candidates who achieve scores above a certain
predetermined level to be invited to participate
further in the selection process as their position on
this ‘ladder’ is reached.
Organisational Development
When discrepancies are noted between the skills
or attitudes of current employees and the
requirements of the organisation, a range of testing
protocols is available to assist the HR practitioner
implement change. These are largely chosen from
the same pool of assessments available for initial
recruitment purposes, and should relate to specific
needs as they arise. For example, if an employer is
concerned that staff are experiencing difficulty with
new financial reporting requirements, numerical
reasoning tests may be given to identify those
candidates who would benefit from training to
address any gaps in their skills. This process needs
careful handling to ensure that employees see it
as constructive.
In addition to assessing individual performance,
personality or work style assessments are often
used with great success to identify deficiencies
in team performance, instigate more constructive
work style interactions and develop appropriate
team-building activities.
The change management process is often more
successfully implemented when the results of
assessments can be used to help address staff
members’ individual needs, communication styles
and attitudes to change.
Career Planning
There is a range of assessment tools available that
will assist in identifying employees’ career interests
and help redirect others who are facing
redundancy. Many of these tools are the same as
those used in initial career guidance for school
leavers – interest inventories, measures of values,
card sorts, etc. – whereas others specifically
consider any blockages that someone may be
experiencing in making a career change. Outcomes
enable the career counsellor to work more
effectively with the client in formulating
constructive future plans.
Personality inventories are also helpful in this
scenario – they identify those aspects of personal
style with which an individual is comfortable as
well as those that may cause them distress.
Exploring career paths that accommodate these
preferences is a positive outcome of the process.
In the area of succession planning, tests that
assess abilities and skills required in jobs at a higher
level in the organisation are popular in assisting
managers plan for advancement of their staff.
Sensitivity is required in the management of this
process so that employees see it as constructive.
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Section I: Test Selection and Administration
4
Ability and Aptitude Tests
Ability tests involve questions that require complex
sets of mental processes and are designed to test a
candidate’s natural ability in a particular area. Often
ability tests explore relationships between two or
more words, numbers or pictures and ask the
candidate to extend a pattern or make an assertion
based on an understanding of the relationship.
Aptitude tests are similar to ability tests, but are
designed to give an indication of a candidate’s likely
successful future performance on the attribute that
is being assessed.
In selecting personnel, ability and aptitude tests
are widely used as good general indicators of
someone’s potential to perform the duties of the job
to a satisfactory standard, and to demonstrate an
ability to apply knowledge gained in new situations.
Non-verbal tests are also often used when selecting
staff for positions that demand skills not directly
related to formal education outcomes.
Example 1 on page 5 is an example from a
numerical ability test.
Ability and Aptitude Test Types
The main kinds of ability and aptitude tests are
listed in Table 2 on page 5, along with the common
selection criteria relevant to each test type.
Achievement Tests
Achievement tests are designed to measure what the
individual has learned in the past. Many educational
tests are designed as achievement tests.
Employers can also use achievement tests for
promotional activities within their organisation.
For example, insurance assessors may have to
demonstrate that they have learned risk categories
and appropriate application of policy levels before
being considered eligible for their next promotion.
Example 2 on page 5 is from an educational
achievement test.
Personality Assessments
Personality assessments are designed to provide
information about the way a person typically
behaves in certain situations, their preferences and
personal styles, and how they see themselves and
others,
but care must be taken in their use. It would
be difficult, for example, to argue that only one
personality type may successfully fulfil the
requirements of a particular job. There may be jobs
where particular personality profiles are more or
less desirable. An applicant for the police force
whose personality profile indicated an aggressive
component could be considered highly unsuitable;
positions involving ‘cold calling’ in sales often
attract extroverted personalities.
tests
Types of
Tests can be classified in a number of ways. One option would be to classify them according to what they
are assessing. For example, tests may be assessing optimum performance (as in ability or aptitude tests) or
practical knowledge (as in achievement tests). Alternatively, they may be assessing emotional responses to
gain a picture of typical response patterns or to identify a person’s preferences, likes and dislikes.
The following are some of the major categories of HR tests.
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[...]... spatial-visual reasoning Ability to interpret schematic electrical drawings Mechanical reasoning, spatial-visual reasoning Ability to read and follow maps, floor plans and diagrams Mechanical reasoning, spatial-visual reasoning Ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively as part of a team Personality assessment Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet set deadlines Personality assessment... Abstract/non-verbal reasoning APTS – abstract SPM General ability (non-verbal intelligence) General problem-solving skills Conceptual and planning abilities Useful for measuring general ability where language may be a barrier Spatial-visual reasoning APTS – spatial-visual Ability to understand and work with visual representations of the real world, e.g maps, designs, plans Mechanical reasoning ACER Mechanical Reasoning... candidate has already sat a test I want to use? Can I ask candidates if they have sat particular tests before? It is not usual to ask a candidate whether they have previously sat particular tests If the candidate offers this information, it may be possible to use a parallel form (an alternative version of the same test with a similar difficulty level but containing different questions) or an alternative... Feedback to Managers As with giving feedback to candidates, it is important to provide feedback to managers and selection committees in a manner that is readily understood, avoiding overly technical information unless they have a good grasp of test theory What do you do if a candidate challenges the results you report? You can ask if any factor on the day may have affected performance If the test is an... incorrect answers to obtain to score a candidate’s candidate sits at the computer and accesses the test material by using a unique password that has been a raw score, in which case a list of correct answers allotted to that candidate by the potential employer will be provided Sometimes each answer is given a at an earlier stage of the selection process different value and the values need to be added to The... be able to refer you to an appropriate provider in your area 27 Quick guide to HR testing. qxd 1/4/05 10:09 AM Page 28 Appendix II Glossary ability a person’s potential to demonstrate a particular skill or perform a certain task abstract relates to concepts, e.g in reasoning tests, no verbal or numerical learning is presupposed (See non-verbal) achievement a person’s performance in a certain field aptitude... aptitude a state that indicates an ability to learn and acquire new skills through training correlation a measure of linear association A correlation of zero between two variables indicates no linear relationship between them at all As the number moves towards plus 1, the positive nature of the association increases If the number is towards minus 1, an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease... and a standard deviation of 10 validity a test’s ability to measure what it is designed to measure verbal relates to an ability or skill that depends on written or spoken language for its representation or solution Quick guide to HR testing. qxd 1/4/05 10:09 AM Page 29 Appendix III Tests and selection criteria guide Many selection criteria for jobs relate to a candidate’s particular qualifications and... breaks, where toilets are located, etc Quick guide to HR testing. qxd 1/4/05 10:09 AM Page 15 A Quick Guide to Human Resource Testing It is wise to check if everyone can see and hear Personality tests usually have no time limit you Does anyone need reading glasses or need to Administrators are advised to suggest that candidates mark the first option that comes to move to the front of the room because... on-the-job training Factory assembly line or shopfloor roles are in this category Tests at a lower level Numerical reasoning tests are available that address assessment at this level A personality that assess general reading ability, numerical attribute such as the desire to help others is also a checking, and speed and accuracy are most desirable characteristic in customer service relevant here Scenario 1 . 11:49 AM Page 1
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MARIAN POWER
A QUICK
GUIDE TO
HUMAN
RESOURCE
TESTING
ACER Press
Quick guide to HR testing. qxd. in
such a way as to facilitate simple and immediate
hand scoring.
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A Quick Guide to Human Resource Testing
9
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