Subj : Re: Aptitude tests "not test well" (was: Software Job Market Myths)
To   : comp.software-eng,comp.programming
From : David
Date : Thu Aug 18 2005 01:23 pm

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 06:20:44 UTC, rem642b@Yahoo.Com (Robert Maas, see 
http://tinyurl.com/uh3t) wrote:

> > From: blm...@myrealbox.com
> > >if I were designing an application form, I would
> > >not bother to put an age field on there, or even a DOB field, despite my
> > >earlier point about it being a useful indicator. And that's because I
> > >wouldn't bother putting a former employer section or a qualification
> > >section on the form. Instead, I'd put in an aptitude test.
> 
> > it seems to me that it would screen out people who don't "test well",
> > i.e., people who aren't very good at demonstrating their abilities
> > under a particular kind of pressure that doesn't seem entirely relevant
> > to what you'd want them to do on the job.
> 
> IIRC that kind of pressure mostly applies when contestants are
> called into a room at a particular time with a standardized test
> with a limited amount of time to finish the test. If the test were
> instead given over the Web, with the contestant/applicant allowed
> to start whenever they feel ready to tackle the first question,
> and they're timed on just that one question then offered a chance to
> either take a break or move to the next question, timing each
> successive question individually and always offering chance for taking
> a break after finishing each question before seeing the next, and
> there's no time limit for all the questions although taking too much
> time causes a lower score, that would seem to elmininate the problem of
> fatigue in a long test, "bad days", and the pressure of coming to a
> test room at a particular time. Would that alleviate most of your
> concerns?

  There is an entire science devoted to the study of designing tests.
While a web-based test may offer some advantages, it does change the
dynamics of what is also part of the underlying test.  That certainly
can affect the quality of the applicants response.  Admittedly, few
people follow a regimine for creating, evaluating, and adjusting
tests.  Teachers are best known for this as they have many sets of
comparisons to make and evaluate.

  We have a similar problem when evaluating potential employees and
employers.  What are the useful results of a test?  If you are given
a test and you ace it, what does it say about you?  Do you have
mastery of the presumed requisite knowledge?  How can we determine
what you do not know?  How do we even know the test is somewhat
valid?

  Employers and interviewers adjust their testing methodology as
is generally required by the situation.  If good applicants are
generally found certain prerequisits may be assumed.  Other skills
may certainly demonstrate other underlying knowledge.  It all
depends on what the interogator wants to discover about the 
subject and has time and effort to discover.

  David

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