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Understanding Your OPAC Validation Report

Includes an overview of how OPAC uses your own job experts to set effective and fair cutoff scores

Copyright © 2007 Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.

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This presentation is provided to OPAC

System users as part of their OPAC Plus Service Plan

Membership

Please send comments or suggestions to info@opac.com

OPAC® and Office Proficiency Assessment & Certification® are registered trademarks of Biddle

Consulting Group, Inc.800-999-0438

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Welcome!• This presentation provides an overview of the

OPAC Validation Report and how cutoff scores for OPAC tests are determined. We hope that you find this presentation helpful.

• OPAC Validation Reports are produced by the OPAC System once an employer’s subject matter experts (also referred to as “job experts” in this presentation) have taken one or more tests in an AutoTest Code while the Validation Wizard feature is turned “on.”

• Validation Reports are printed from the “Validation Report” link from the “Reporting” section of the OPAC Administrator’s program (see next slide).– Additional information about the Validation Wizard

process may be found in the OPAC Administrator’s Manual.

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2. Click on the “Validation Report”

link

Note: Validation Reports can be accessed and printed only after one or more job experts have used the Validation Wizard feature for an

AutoTest Code

“Screen shot” of the OPAC Administrator’s

Program

1. Click on the “Reporting” main

menu option

To access and print a Validation Report…

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Select the AutoTest Code of the

Validation Report you wish to access

Then click here to access the report

you selected

“Screen shot” of the OPAC Administrator’s Program

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Before printing a Validation Report from the Administrator’s Program,

select both the Detail and Summary report options

This white area contains some of the information that will be found

in the Summary portion of the Validation Report once it is printed

“Screen shot” of the OPAC Administrator’s Program

Click here to print the Validation Report

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The Validation Report would then be printed by the OPAC System

and ready for review

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The following are a few notes that may help you during this presentation…

• The term “AutoTest Code” refers to a series of tests that a test administrator groups together for a single job prior to the Validation Wizard being used.

• The term “SME” refers to the job experts who have responded to the Validation Wizard’s survey questions.– SMEs (or job experts) are current successful target job

performers, and/or supervisors who have held the target job, and/or instructors or trainers for the targeted job classification.

• The term “SEM” refers to the “standard error of measurement,” a statistical term which will be explained in detail later in this presentation.

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There are two sections to the Validation Report

• Detailed section

• Summary section– This presentation will focus on each

section separately, starting with the detailed section

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Page 1 of the detailed section of the Validation Report starts like this

Date the Validation Report was printed

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Page 1 of the detailed section of the Validation Report starts like this

Name of AutoTest Code that was validated and

number of tests in this AutoTest CodeNumber of job experts

who have validated this specific test

Names of job experts who have

taken this test with the Validation

Wizard turned “on”

Name of the test that was validated.

Each test in a validated AutoTest Code has its own

section in the Validation Report.

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The detailed portion of the Validation Report begins like this

Job experts’ race, gender, years of

experience, and the date they validated

this test

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The next few pages in the Validation

Report include the job experts’

responses to the Validation Wizard’s survey questions

The detailed Validation Report continues like this

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Examples of more of the job experts’ responses to the

Validation Wizard’s survey questions

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This is an example of the final portion

of the detailed Validation Report section for each

test, titled “Results and Recommended

Cutoff Scores”

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OPAC provides users with four possible cutoff

scores to determine who “passes” or

“fails” the test

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So, you might ask, how are cutoff

scores determined by the OPAC

System and which should you use?

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First we will examine how cutoff scores are determined by the OPAC system

• Cutoff scores are determined by the OPAC system based on feedback from your own job experts who have used the Validation Wizard feature.

• We would look to Question #5 in the Validation Report for each of the tests that have been validated using the Validation Wizard feature to understand how this is done.

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The cutoff scores suggested by your job experts are used to determine who

passes and fails the test

Question #5 in the Validation Report

The next few slides will show you how

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The “SME’s Score” column contains the scores your job experts obtained when

they took this test

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In accordance with the U.S. v. South Carolina Supreme Court decision the scores your job expert’s achieved on this test are NOT directly used when

computing the cutoff score

Note: Only the cutoff scores your job experts suggested are used for

computing the cutoff score

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The score each job expert received when they took this test is shown in this

column in the Validation Report

The minimum score they recommended that a minimally qualified job candidate should attain to be considered qualified

for the job is shown in this column

Instead, your job experts are informed by the OPAC Validation Wizard what they scored on this test when they took it (i.e., the

number shown in the “SME’s Score” column for that test taker).

They then are asked for their recommendation as to what a minimally qualified job candidate should score to be considered for

hiring (which is shown in the “Suggested Cutoff Score” column).

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48

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WPM (words per minute)

WPM (number only)

This is the Validation Wizard survey question concerning cutoff scores that the job experts

respond to during the Validation Wizard process

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Then, the average of all of the cutoff scores suggested by your job experts is shown here in Question #5 of the report

Note: The term “Mean” in this report refers to the statistical average

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The average (or “mean”) suggested cutoff score from Question #5 is also shown here in the “Results and

Recommended Cutoff Scores” section of each test

you have validated

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Question: If this is the cutoff score my job experts recommend, why should I consider using any other cutoff score?

Answer: Because no tests are perfect. They include "measurement error" and the U.S. Supreme Court has supported

adjusting minimum passing (cutoff) scores to account for this.

U.S. v. South Carolina, 434 US 1026 (1978)

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The U.S. Supreme Court has supported that when a test is used for selection (i.e., hiring) purposes, employers consider adjusting the cutoff score downward one, two, or three standard error of

measurements (SEMs) considering the five factors below

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The standard error of measurement for this test is shown here in the Validation

Report

What is a Standard Error of Measurement?

If a person were to take the same test repeatedly, with no change in his or her level of knowledge and preparation, it is possible that some of the resulting scores would be slightly

higher or slightly lower than the score that precisely reflects the person’s actual level of knowledge and ability. The Standard Error of Measurement sets a boundary around where

these hypothetical scores will lie. For example, a person who scores 45 on a typing test that has a SEM of 5 would most likely score between 40 and

50 about 70% of the time.

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If you had to compute the standard error of measurement yourself, you would use

this formula

• SEM refers to the standard error of measurement

• SD refers to the standard deviation of test scores

• rxy refers to the reliability of the testFor more details, refer to the “Test Validation” chapter, “Cutoff

Scores” section, of the OPAC Administrator’s ManualNote: More sophisticated methods are available for computing conditional SEMs (SEMs that change throughout the test score range) for tests that have more test items than are typically contained on

OPAC tests.

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• SEM refers to the standard error of measurement

• SD refers to the standard deviation of test scores

• rxy refers to the reliability of the test

For more details, refer to the “Test Validation” chapter, “Cutoff Scores” section, of the OPAC Administrator’s Manual

The OPAC System automatically computes the

standard error of measurement and adjusted cutoff scores so

you don’t have to

If you had to compute the standard error of measurement, you would use this

formula

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For example, the mean less one SEM for this test isthe mean of suggested

cutoffs (32.900) minus one SEM (2.629), which is 30.271.

This is rounded out to 30.

The mean less two SEMs for this test is

the mean of suggested cutoffs (32.900) minus two

SEMs (5.382), which is 27.518. This is rounded out

to 28.

We follow the same logic for the mean less three SEMs

Calculating the adjusted cutoff

scores using the standard error of

measurement

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So, the U.S. Supreme Court recommends you consider

using one of these three cutoff scores instead of the mean of suggested cutoffs

Consider these five factors when deciding which cutoff score you wish to use

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Of those job candidates who passed* the test, can I hire those

who scored the highest on the test rather than those who scored lower

on the test?

*“Passing” means that the test takers being considered have scored at or above the cutoff score you have

determined to be appropriate for the target job

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If the word “Rank” is shown here on your Validation

Report you would have the option to “rank order” test

takers according to their test scores. For example, you can

put the highest scoring person in first place, the next highest second place, and so

on, and then hire from that list.

Warning: Rank ordering by test scores often leads to greater adverse impact against some groups of test takers. Do not rank

order unless you have a very good, business-related reason for doing so.

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• A rank ordering process should not be used for tests that measure knowledge, skills, or abilities that are only needed at some minimum levels on the job

• Also, rank ordering is appropriate only for tests that distinguish between acceptable and above acceptable performance on the target job

• There is potentially lower liability when considering everyone who passes the test to be equally qualified than when rank ordering by test scores

• We advise that you consult with your legal advisor when making the determination whether to rank order test takers for the target job

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If the words “Pass/Fail” are shown here on your

Validation Report you should consider all applicants who score at or above the cutoff

score you choose to be equally qualified in the

knowledge, skill, or ability measured by this test.

Pass/Fail

You should never rank order based on scores from an OPAC test if the words

“Pass/Fail” are indicated.

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The Summary Portion of the OPAC Validation Report

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This is an example of the Report Summary Section of the Validation Report

The Report Summary portion of an OPAC Validation Report contains key

elements from the detailed report sections of all of the tests in the

AutoTest Code that was validated

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AutoTest Code name and number of tests in this AutoTest Code are

shown here on the report

Names of the tests in this AutoTest Code

Indicates whether your job experts found these

tests to be valid (a “Yes” means they are

valid; a “No” means this test should not be used

for employment purposes for this job)

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The number of job experts who validated this test is

shown here

Cutoff1 is the mean cutoff score for this test less one

SEM, Cutoff2 is the mean less two SEMs, and Cutoff3 is the

mean less three SEMs

Note: The courts have suggested using 7 to 10 job experts to validate a test. Of course, you can always use more if you wish.

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This indicates whether you can rank order based upon

test results

•“Rank” indicates you can rank order based on the results of that test.

• You also have the option to consider everyone who passes the test to be equally qualified if the word “Rank” appears here. In other words, you do not have to rank order your job candidates.

•“P/F” indicates you should not rank order based on scores from this test. Instead, everyone who passes this test should be considered equally qualified in the knowledge, skill, or ability measured by this test.

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We hope this presentation has been helpful to you!

Please send comments or suggestions to info@opac.com

OPAC® and Office Proficiency Assessment & Certification® are registered trademarks of Biddle

Consulting Group, Inc.800-999-0438

Please refer to your OPAC Administrator’s Manual for more details about the validation process when using the Validation Wizard feature