A classification scheme for job performance measurement was developed by the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory (AFHRL) for development of individual job performance measures to validate Air Force selection and classification procedures. The job performance literature indicates that previous research relied heavily on broad-based generic…

Although research in goal setting has demonstrated that specific, difficult goals lead to better performance, more refined research on the affect of participative decision making and supportive leadership on goal setting has produced ambiguous results. To investigate the relative importance of goal setting, leader supportiveness, and task…

This study explored the relationship between mathematical competency (mathematics training received in college) and mathematics computer specialists use on the job. The study was developed based upon an hypothesis that many computer occupations have formal academic requirements for admission and advancement which have an unclear relationship to…

Five states (Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida, and Arizona) are currently either administering or field-testing classroom observation systems for certification or employment decisions regarding beginning teachers. In Georgia, a beginning teacher has three years to demonstrate competence. Observations are completed by an external data…

Professional competence involves the professional's ability to function effectively in the tasks and proficiencies considered essential within a given profession. For mid-career professionals, the maintenance of professional competence becomes a major concern. This study examined the personal and institutional characteristics that are associated…

The Park City School District (Utah) career ladder design provides a system in which teachers are positioned and paid according to successful performance and differentiation of responsibilities. It includes an evaluation system to differentiate among teachers. The career ladder design presents a number of innovations; for example, excellent…

A needs assessment was conducted to determine how county cooperative extension advisors in Illinois perceive their duties and what they consider their needs for inservice education. Questionnaires identifying 14 competencies needed by cooperative extension agents were sent to county extension advisors; the 298 that were returned constituted the…

Validity of the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI) was investigated using 279 grade ten and 256 grade twelve students. Factor analysis of the ten subtests of the CMI and the regression of the CMI variables on intelligence scores, sex, and grade indicated partial support of the theoretical postulations. Two principal factors emerged, but the CMI…

A study was undertaken to develop a system for predicting the impact of adjustments in aptitude requirements on outcomes (performance) in Air Force basic resident technical training. To accomplish this, a multivariate modeling approach was used. Initially, interviews were constructed within a variety of technical training programs to specify the…

This document addresses the problems facing researchers who are involved in evaluating worker potential across the life-span, including that most evidence focusing on differential job ability levels within age classifications has come from empirical investigations concerning functional age. A critique of the functional age approach is presented…

Correctional officers, often subject to sustained job stress and ambiguity, must possess adequate coping skills to deal with a hostile clientele. Psychological screening, therefore, assumes an important role in correctional officer recruitment. Prior to a recruitment drive, 650 employed correctional officers completed an MMPI and a biographical…

This report of the hearing before the Senate Committee on Aging concerns the question of aging and its effects on learning and working. Statements by witnesses are recorded to present the results of ongoing longitudinal studies focused on the effects of biological aging and the measurement techniques used to analyze variables associated with…

A review of state laws governing certification of professional educators reveals both wide agreement on many certification issues and a shift toward making requirements more stringent. Teacher certification has long been accepted as a means of ensuring minimum competency. Many of the issues surrounding certification have been settled, including…

A study was conducted that addressed job literacy in a cross-section of occupations. The Diehl-Mikulecky Job Literacy Survey was administered to 107 subjects who represented a full range of occupational types and levels and who comprised a sample similar to the adult working population on the demographic variables of sex, race, income earned, and…

Focusing on assessment centers, this chapter is one of seven in a report that examines the assessment of occupational competence. Assessment centers are presented first in a historical context (their origins in personality theory), through which their evolution is traced and examined. What follows is a description of current assessment center…