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Participants Needed for Entry-Level Firefighter Test Study (Discounts Available!)

IPMA-HR is in the final stretch of finishing up the validation study on our entry-level firefighter (FF-EL) test series, but we still need your help!  We are seeking a few more agencies who have administered a test from the FF-EL series to provide us the scores received by firefighters who were selected for the job.

Once we’ve received these test scores from you, we ask that each firefighter’s supervisor complete a brief 9-question performance evaluation.  This will allow us to see whether our tests from the FF-EL series continue to be successful in predicting on-the-job performance.

For your help, you will receive $100 off your agency’s next IPMA-HR assessment order.  In addition, your participation in this project will provide direct evidence supporting the validity of these exams and their use in your agency.

If you would like to participate, please visit the following link to provide your test scores:

FF-EL Validation Study

Our Research Associate, Julia Hind-Smith, will then follow up with you to provide further instructions on completing the performance evaluations.  If you have any questions about the study, please feel free to reach out to Julia at jsmith@ipma-hr.org.

(Please Note: All information gathered for this study will remain strictly confidential.  The data gathered will be combined with data from other departments and only be reported in the form of group statistics.)

By |2018-01-29T17:03:12-04:00September 22nd, 2017|Assessment, Public Safety Testing, Public Safety Tests|Comments Off on Participants Needed for Entry-Level Firefighter Test Study (Discounts Available!)
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Are Tests Valid for Public Safety Jobs?

Number 4 in the Validity of Public Safety Assessments Series

The idea for this primer series germinated from a simple question – “Could you do an article looking at the validity of tests used in public safety assessment?” In response, I decided to do a series of articles aimed to inform, but also designed to keep things simple. The blogs in this series were intended to cover:

  1. What are the characteristics of a good test?
  2. What are some authoritative references human resource and assessment professionals can rely upon in evaluating the worthiness of tests?
  3. What is validity?
  4. Finally, trying to address the original question I was asked, are public safety assessments valid?

The first three blogs in the primer series have been published and are available by clicking the links above.

This is the fourth and final article in the series and is intended to answer the question regarding the validity of tests for public safety jobs. I define public safety jobs here as including police, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS). In addition, human resource professionals are usually interested in the use of tests in both entry level screening and for arriving at promotion decisions. (more…)

By |2017-08-16T11:12:41-04:00August 16th, 2017|Assessment, Validity|Comments Off on Are Tests Valid for Public Safety Jobs?
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What is Validity?

Number 3 in the Validity of Public Safety Assessments Series

The idea for this primer series germinated from a simple question – “Could you do an article looking at the validity of tests used in public safety assessment?” In response, I decided to do a series of articles aimed to inform, but also designed to keep things simple. The blogs in this series are intended to cover:

  1. What are the characteristics of a good test?
  2. What are some authoritative references human resource and assessment professionals can rely upon in evaluating the worthiness of tests?
  3. What is validity?
  4. Are public safety assessments good tests and are they valid?

The first two blogs in the primer series has been published and are available by clicking the links above.

This is the third in the series and is intended to provide a basic introduction into the various kinds of validity evidence. By validity evidence, I do not mean the obvious distinction between the big four of:

  1. Content
  2. Criterion-related
  3. Construct
  4. Transfer or Transportability

Understanding the distinctions between the four types of validity listed above is important. However, in this blog, I mean something different by types of validity evidence. As our ultimate purpose or goal is to respond to the question as to whether tests are valid for purposes of public sector assessment, we can consider the following five types of validity evidence as relevant:

  1. Local Validation Based on Criterion-Related Evidence
  2. Validity Generalization Evidence Based on Tests in General
  3. Validity Generalization Evidence Based on Specific Occupation
  4. Validity Generalization Evidence Based on Specific Test
  5. Other

(more…)

By |2017-07-25T16:23:29-04:00July 25th, 2017|Assessment, Validity|Comments Off on What is Validity?
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Where Can I Find Guidelines for Tests?

The idea for this primer series germinated from a simple question – “Could you do an article looking at the validity of tests used in public safety assessment?” In response, I decided to do a series of articles aimed to inform, but also intended to keep things simple. The blogs in this series are intended to cover:

  1. What are the characteristics of a good test?
  2. What are some authoritative references human resource and assessment professionals can rely upon in evaluating the worthiness of tests?
  3. What is validity?
  4. Are public safety assessments good tests and are they valid?

The first article in the primer series has been published and is available on the IPMA-HR Assessment Services Review page.

This is the second in the series and is intended to answer the question as to where can the reader turn for guidance in addition to that offered in this series of blogs. My suggested list is fairly short and includes:

(more…)

By |2017-06-14T10:27:47-04:00June 14th, 2017|ASR Bookshelf, Public Safety Tests, Validity|Comments Off on Where Can I Find Guidelines for Tests?
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What Are The Characteristics of a Good Test?

Part 1 in the Validity of Public Safety Assessments Series

The idea for this primer series germinated from a simple question – “Could you do an article looking at the validity of tests used in public safety assessment.” As my forgiving readership already knows, I have trouble containing my thoughts to a single entry. So, as I began to frame out how I would respond to the question of the validity of public safety assessments, the amount of material I wanted to cover started to grow exponentially. At some point, I decided it would be best to start from the beginning with a series of primers on topics related to validity, building up to an answer to the question of “what is the validity of public safety assessments.”

So now this blog will be the first in a series looking at this question. Over a series of articles aimed to inform, but also intended to keep things simple, I will cover:

  1. What are the characteristics of a good test?
  2. What are some authoritative references human resource and assessment professionals can rely upon in evaluating the worthiness of tests?
  3. What is validity?
  4. Are public safety assessments good tests and are they valid?

This first article in the primer series deals with the question of what is a good test. A good test can be defined as one that is:

  • Reliable
  • Valid
  • Practical
  • Socially Sensitive
  • Candidate Friendly.

Briefly and simply, I will review the meaning of each of these characteristics. (more…)

By |2017-04-11T14:09:52-04:00April 11th, 2017|Assessment, Public Safety Tests, Validity|3 Comments
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