They may not be of a baby panda sneezing, but they’re still pretty awesome! Take a few minutes to check out our new “everything you wanted to know about IPMA-HR’s assessment products in two minutes” video and our new “everything you wanted to know about IPMA-HR’s fire service products in just over a minute” video. You won’t regret it. We promise, it’s better than “CATS.”
IPMA-HR’s Assessment Services Department is developing a new accounting clerk test! In order to create top-of-the-line tests for this position, we need agencies to participate in the test development process. The next step in the process is the completion of job analysis questionnaires.
Would your department be willing to help?
We are asking for experienced accounting clerks from each agency to complete a web-based job analysis questionnaire (JAQ). The results of the job analysis will identify the most important tasks and competencies needed to perform on the job effectively. Completion of the questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes.
Participating agencies will receive a $100 discount toward any future test order from IPMA-HR for participation. Additionally, all participating JAQ respondents will be entered into a raffle to win a catered lunch for their department!
If you are interested in participating, please complete the participation form on our webpage and we will contact you with more information on the next phase of the test development process.
Woohoo! The new Assessment Services catalog is available online for viewing — or download your very own copy! What’s new? SO MUCH! I can’t even tell you how cool it is. You really should see for yourself.
Well, okay, here’s a sneak peak: new tests (paging Public Works …), new services (I can take my test from where?!), new and updated publications (setting that passpoint like a pro now!) and new ways to communicate with you (your awesome sense of humor is now available on social media?!) — oh, my!
Check it out! Tell your friends! Tell your dog! Tell your friends and your dog. It’s that awesome.
We’ve expanded our products and services to serve you better! Here’s what’s new:
Follow the links above to learn more, or call us at: 1-800-381-TEST (8378).
I love a good underdog story — stories about people who started from nothing and, despite their circumstances, were able to climb to the top and experience success. In the American culture especially, underdogs are highly regarded. Why do Americans love underdog stories so much?
Underdogs are the manifestation of the American Dream. For decades, immigrants have flocked to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream: The idea that in the United States of America, all citizens have equal opportunities and an equal chance of achieving their goals and dreams. My parents, like many other American parents, instilled in me the ideology that if you work hard to achieve your goals, you will succeed.
Despite the ideology America was built on, our country has struggled to consistently provide equal opportunities to all. As discussed in the previous legal law series posts, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first pivotal piece of American legislation toward equal opportunity for all because it outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The purpose of this piece of legislation was to ensure fairness, and as test developers and test users, we know all too well the importance of fairness in selection decisions.
Fairness in testing has recently been thrown back into the limelight due to the recent 
College Admissions Cheating Scam (Yan, 2019). The scandal has caused an uproar in America because it has exposed hypocrisy in the American Dream, which instead feels like it should be defined as, “in the United States of America, wealthy citizens have better opportunities and a better chance of achieving their goals and dreams.” The public is questioning now, more than ever, test security, fairness, and the people in positions of power who make the important and life-changing decisions of who gets in, who gets hired, and who gets promoted.
As test developers and test users, candidates are looking to us to make fair decisions. Test developers have a responsibility to develop tests according to professional and legal guidelines. If fairness and/or adverse impact analysis data has been collected on assessments, test developers should make that information available to test users to help inform their selection decisions. IPMA-HR’s Assessment Services Department provides several free white papers to help test users ensure fairness in testing, including Considerations in Addressing Adverse Impact, and Considerations in Test Accommodations.
Test users have the responsibility to make fair selection and promotional decisions, which includes the choice of proctor. I receive many calls for advice on test fairness, adverse impact and test accommodations. But hands-down, the most common fairness-related question I receive is: Where do I set my passpoint?
Setting a valid, fair and appropriate passpoint is often the most challenging activity associated with the test development and administration process. Agencies have a responsibility to use great care and consideration when setting a passpoint, particularly when hiring decisions are based, even in part, on exam results.
IPMA-HR’s Assessment Services Department now offers an efficient and effective solution: the Passpoint Guide. The Passpoint Guide provides step-by-step instructions and Excel spreadsheets to show you how to determine a fair threshold of acceptable performance on the score continuum. In other words: who deserves to pass the test. And, as always, our Assessment Services staff is available to help answer any fairness related questions you may have.
References
Yan, H. (2019, March 19). What we know so far in the college admissions cheating scandal. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/us/what-we-know-college-admissions-cheating-scandal/index.html
IPMA-HR’s Assessment Services Department is developing new entry-level Police Officer and promotional Police Lieutenant exams. The first step in the test development process is the development of a job analysis questionnaire to determine the most important tasks, duties and qualifications to perform as police officers and lieutenants. In order to compile a list of duties and qualifications for use in the job analysis questionnaire, we are requesting that police departments submit any job descriptions for the ranks of police officer and police lieutenant. All submitted materials will remain completely confidential. Please forward job descriptions to yrandall@ipma-hr.org. Thank you!
We are reaching out for Account Clerk job descriptions as well as policy and procedures related to the position which includes processing payments, invoicing, account codes, rate schedules, collection of fees, payroll and completing other general accounting paperwork. Please forward job descriptions and other pertinent documents to tkovalski@ipma-hr.org.
If you are interested, also complete this very short survey on possible test content: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4732814/Account-Clerk-Test-Development
Any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
IPMA-HR’s Assessment Services Department is pleased to announce our new and improved Customized Exam Policy! The new policy was designed to make the customization process more convenient for customers, while also increasing test security.
Agencies that place a customized test order will no longer receive a master copy of the exam, nor will they be required to make copies of the exam for their candidates. The Assessment Services Department will provide up to 20 professional candidate test booklets for no additional charge. If you need more than 20 candidate booklets, the cost is $16 per additional booklet.
IPMA-HR will retain all master copies, answer keys, reading lists, and original customization packets for up to three years. If you would like to reorder a customized exam that was created under this new policy, there is a $97 administration fee to ensure the test questions are up to date and that your reading list is current. You will also be charged $16 per candidate booklet.
Please note that this pricing only applies if no changes or revisions have been made to the previously ordered test. If you want to change or replace any items, you will be charged the standard pricing of $395 labor fee + $10.00 per test question.
Agencies that have ordered customized exams prior to the new policy may continue to use their previously received materials (i.e., master copy, answer key, reading list, etc.). However, you should contact the Assessment Services Department before each test administration to make sure there were no updates to the questions on your test and to ensure your reading list is current. If you no longer have your reading list, master copy or answer key and need to request another from the Assessment Services Department, the following rules apply:
We’re pleased to announce the release of our new Assessment Products Catalog! Here you’ll find descriptions of all our testing products — including some new ones! Download your FREE copy or view the PDF online here.
Due to recent updates to the published source material for our series of Police Supervisor (PSUP), Police Lieutenant (PL), Fire Company Officer (FCO), and Police Detective (PDET), we have decided to update several of the test questions that appear in those test forms. In addition, we have updated the reading lists belonging to each test to reflect the most current published source material.
To assist our customers in more easily recognizing which test version they are administering, we have reprinted the new tests under new names. The new tests correspond to the old ones and have undergone changes as follows:
If you’ve already distributed the reading lists for any of the older versions of these tests, then you do not need to take any further action to redistribute a new reading list. When you order your test, just make sure to order the test that matches the reading list you provided to your candidates. We will retain sufficient stock of the existing tests to accommodate those processes that have already begun.
At this point forward, we will be providing the updated reading lists for all new orders. If you’d like to request the new reading list, you may do so here: http://ipma-hr.org/assessment/support/readinglist.
Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this update.
For more information on each of these tests, please visit: http://ipma-hr.org/assessment/tests/police