Assesment instruments - Essay Example

Assessment Instruments The PF Questionnaire was developed in the 1950s to measure 16 primary elements of personality and five global factors. The fifth edition of the test, released in 1993, contains 183 questions. By hand or through a computer the entire test can be completed in less than one hour. The test can also be scored by computer, a program develops a quick summary of the results based on the subjects answers. (Cattell, 1996)There is also a shorter version of the test known as the PF Select that can be administered (and scored) even more quickly.

As a result of the age of the test numerous independent research projects have repeatedly validated its accuracy. (Cattell, 1996) The global factors the test measures are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN). (Hofer & Eber, 2002)Employers also use skill or knowledge specific tests. For example, tests for prospective employees of the United States, State Department are not unlike university examinations in a politics class. They are designed to determine an applicants knowledge of foreign governments, history and diplomacy.

These are job-specific skills for that employer. Similarly, many factories will examine prospective employees to determine their level of knowledge of required skills from plumbing to computer technology. In essence tests of this nature determine an employees competence in the skills the company or position requires them to have. Tests of this nature have been used since time immemorial. Arguably, an apprenticeship program in a trade such as tool and die maker can be seen as one long testing process resulting in the apprentice receiving the designation of journeyman.

Wikipedia suggests that academic careers can be seen as an apprenticeship program: “Even in academia, the tradition survives, with elementary, middle and high school completing general education; with post secondary degrees awarded in the Associates, Bachelor and Master levels; and PhD students as apprentices, post-docs and associate professors as journeymen and full professors as masters.” (“Master Craftsman”)Testing alone has one major advantage. It is entirely objective. There is no influence over a test relating to an interviewer liking or disliking a candidate.

The candidate answers the test and the test results are calculated. However, this can also be its major disadvantage. Particularly if the test, such as the PF Questionnaire is designed to measure personality factors. The PF Questionnaire can accurately judge global personality traits and specific personality traits. However, it cannot assess soft factors such as body language, tone of voice and all of the other variables that are best assessed by face-to-face contact. Therefore, testing alone is incomplete.

The lack of the human element that makes it entirely objective also removes the interpersonal elements of an interview. These interpersonal elements often mean the difference between success or failure in the workplace. Further, they are most insightfully assessed during personal contact.On another level some people simply do not test well. The stress of the testing environment can impair a persons abilities. However, if this occurs, a prospective employer could worry that the prospective employee might also respond poorly when confronted with deadlines and other work related pressures.

In conclusion, the best selection process should employ both testing and interviews, and perhaps multiple tests. Returning to the example of the U.S. State Department testing could be used to determine personality traits and general knowledge. However, results on both of these tests would be augmented by a face-to-face interview that covered the same ground again in a different environment.ReferencesCattell, H.E.P. (1996). The original big-five: A historical perspective. European Review of Psychology, 46 (1), 5-14.Hofer, S.M.

& Eber, H.W. (2002). Second-order factor structure of the Cattell Sixteen Personality Factor Inventory (16PF). in B. De Raad & M. Perugini (Eds.), Big-Five Assessment. Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, pp.397-404.“Master Craftsman”. Www.wikipedia.org. Retrieved November 8, 2010.