Tuesday, August 21, 2007

August ACN

The August, 2007 issue of Assessment Council News is out and Dr. Mike Aamodt provides his usual great writing, this time in article titled, "A Test! A Test! My Kingdom for a Valid Test!" where he goes over what you need to look for when selecting a commercially available test...in two easy steps!

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Previously, [the] clients had their supervisors create their own tests, and we advised them that this was not a good idea." (I just like the idea of saying that to clients, aside from the fact that it's true 99% of the time)

"Creating a reliable, valid, and fair measure of a competency is difficult, time consuming, frustrating, costly, and just about any other negative adjective you can conjure up. Think of the frustration that accompanies building or remodeling a home and you will have the appropriate picture." (So it ISN'T a coincidence that I enjoy testing and home remodeling. Whew.)

"...it is essential to remember that no test is valid across all jobs and that criterion validity is established by occupation, and depending on who you talk (argue) with, perhaps by individual location." (Just don't tell this to Schmidt and Hunter.)

More info about ACN, including links to past issues, here.

And by the way...major kudos to Dr. Aamodt for offering so much of his work online. This is rare and to be commended.

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