CODESP Pre-Employment Assessment and Testing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), which statistical threshold is commonly used to determine if adverse impact exists?
- The 2/3 rule
- The 4/5ths (80%) rule (Correct answer)
- The 1/2 rule
- The 90% rule
Correct answer: The 4/5ths (80%) rule
The 4/5ths (80%) rule states that adverse impact is indicated when the selection rate for a protected group is less than 80% of the rate for the highest-selected group.
Question 2: Which type of validity evidence is gathered by correlating test scores with a measure of job performance obtained at the same time?
- Predictive validity
- Concurrent validity (Correct answer)
- Content validity
- Construct validity
Correct answer: Concurrent validity
Concurrent validity is established by administering a test to current employees and correlating scores with existing performance measures simultaneously.
Question 3: A structured interview differs from an unstructured interview primarily because it:
- Requires more interviewers
- Uses the same questions and scoring rubric for all candidates (Correct answer)
- Focuses exclusively on behavioral history
- Is conducted remotely via video
Correct answer: Uses the same questions and scoring rubric for all candidates
Structured interviews use standardized questions and scoring criteria applied consistently to every candidate, which increases reliability and reduces bias.
Question 4: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) restricts pre-employment medical examinations to which phase of the hiring process?
- Before any interview is conducted
- Before a conditional offer of employment is made
- After a conditional offer of employment has been extended (Correct answer)
- After the employee has completed 90 days of work
Correct answer: After a conditional offer of employment has been extended
Under the ADA, medical exams may only be required after a conditional job offer has been made, not before, to prevent disability discrimination.
Question 5: Which statistical concept describes the degree to which a selection test consistently produces the same results across repeated administrations?
- Validity
- Reliability (Correct answer)
- Utility
- Specificity
Correct answer: Reliability
Reliability refers to the consistency of a measurement instrument; a reliable test produces stable scores under the same conditions.
Question 6: A cognitive ability test used for a clerical position is found to have lower pass rates for Hispanic applicants compared to White applicants. The employer's best first step is to:
- Immediately discontinue the test
- Conduct a job analysis to determine if the test is job-related (Correct answer)
- Lower the cut score for all applicants
- Report the finding to the EEOC voluntarily
Correct answer: Conduct a job analysis to determine if the test is job-related
When adverse impact is detected, the employer should first conduct a job analysis to evaluate whether the test measures abilities genuinely required by the job.
Question 7: The 'banding' technique in test score interpretation is used primarily to:
- Rank candidates strictly by raw score
- Group candidates whose scores are within a statistically indistinguishable range (Correct answer)
- Eliminate bottom-scoring candidates before interviews
- Convert raw scores to percentile ranks
Correct answer: Group candidates whose scores are within a statistically indistinguishable range
Banding treats scores within a statistically equivalent range as equal, allowing employers to consider other factors among candidates within the same band.
CODESP Pre-Employment Assessment and Testing 2
Under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), which statistical threshold is commonly used to determine if adverse impact exists?