Since the accuracy and validity of occupational data may vary according to the rating scale format employed, the first phase of the research described in the report employed hypothetical job descriptions from which accurate criterion data could be generated. The second phase of the research required developing an occupational survey instrument…

Research is presented on the construction of job families based on Position Analysis Questionnaire data. The data were subjected to a component analysis. Results were interpreted as sufficiently encouraging to proceed with analyses of validity generalization within the job families. (Editor/RK)

Research on job analysis and on the application of that data to the problem of selection test construction has grown out of its infancy. However, there is insufficient evidence for the sole use of any method for the construction of a content valid test. Proposes that multiple methods of job analysis be used and specifically that a task-oriented…

Data on 21 performance tests, entry level and promotional, motor and verbal, were evaluated for 263 applicants for city government jobs over a 17-month period. In comparison to paper and pencil tests, performance tests were more cost-effective, more face valid, and more acceptable to applicants in this situation. (Author/KC)

The development and evaluation of prototype hands-on equipment, job sample performance tests for a high skilled technical Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) are described. An electronic maintenance MOS (26C20) was used as the research vehicle. The results led to the conclusion that valid and reliable performance tests could be constructed, but…

Examined are questions pertinent to the use of the Position Analysis Questionnaire: Who can use the PAQ reliably and validly? Must one rely on trained job analysts? Can people having no direct contact with the job use the PAQ reliably and validly? Do response biases influence PAQ responses? (Author/KC)

A study was conducted to construct a preliminary version of a shortened form of the Occupation Analysis Inventory (OAI:SF). (The OAI is an instrument containing 622 work elements which are descriptions of work activities and conditions on which jobs and occupations are rated. The work elements were generated within a broad framework of five…

A description of the perceptual/psychomotor ability requirements for performing the tasks of various Air Force career fields was sought. An analysis of the literature relating to taxonomies, measurement considerations and job analyses yielded a taxonomy containing thirteen perceptual/psychomotor classes along with techniques for collecting the…

The United States Training and Employment Service General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), first published in 1947, has been included in a continuing program of research to validate the tests against success in many different occupations. The GATB consists of 12 tests which measure nine aptitudes: General Learning Ability; Verbal Aptitude; Numerical…

This paper outlines the increasing need for low-skilled entry level workers, documents business and industry's response to the resulting labor shortage by tapping the resources of individuals with physical and mental disabilities, and reviews problems in job placement of workers with severe disabilities. The Work Inventory for Severely disAbled…

This chapter is limited to the specific employment practice of employee testing. The purpose is to distinguish between constitutional and statutory standards for challenging discriminatory testing practices and to propose procedures for developing, administering, and using tests as part of personnel decisions. Four Supreme Court cases are…

Content validity involves a judgment that all knowledges, skills, abilities, and other worker characteristics (KSAOs) needed for successful job performance (or a specified portion, the job content domain), have been adequately sampled by the tests used for employee selection and promotion decision making. The model outlines the procedure for…

A set of tests that might be reasonably used as provisional criterion measures in research on scientific thinking, particularly creative thinking, were developed and an assessment was made of the suitability of these tests as criterion variables from the standpoint of their psychometric properties. The Tests of Scientific Thinking are performance…

Cooperative testing is a rather specific and practical aspect of validity generalization or test transportability. It refers to two or more units of government combining their testing and/or recruiting efforts. The Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (P.L. 1-648) made specific provision for cooperative examining in stating that the Civil…

A study was undertaken to improve the measurement of small team performance within the Army. A provisional taxonomy of team-level performance functions was field-validated; criteria and measures of the functions were developed; and their reliability was examined. The provisional taxonomy, used for observing Army field training exercises, was used…