Created by Esin Yalçın / March, 2023
Developing industry-specific pre-employment tests has become a crucial aspect of recruitment in today's competitive job market. Employers are seeking more efficient and effective methods to identify the most qualified candidates for their open positions. Industry-specific pre-employment tests provide a reliable and objective way to measure a candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities, ensuring that they possess the necessary qualifications for the job. In addition to reducing the time and resources spent on recruitment, these tests also help to minimize the risk of making a bad hiring decision. Therefore, the development of industry-specific pre-employment tests has become an essential strategy for companies to build a successful workforce.
Let's take a closer look at each of these test development steps to understand how they contribute to the overall success of the pre-employment testing process.
In this step, you need to identify the specific competencies, skills, and knowledge required for success in the job role you are testing for. Conducting a thorough job analysis can help you determine the relevant competencies and create a job profile. The job profile should include information about the required knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics. This information will be used to develop the test objectives and guide the development of the test content.
The test objectives should be specific, measurable, and relevant to the job role. The objectives will guide the creation of the test content and ensure that the test accurately measures the competencies required for the job. It's essential to involve subject matter experts (SMEs) in this process to ensure that the test objectives are comprehensive and accurate.
Create and design step involves creating the test format, question types, and scoring system. The goal is to create a test that accurately measures the competencies identified in Step 1.
To create the test content, start by selecting the appropriate question types, such as multiple-choice, true/false, short answer, essay, and matching questions. Consider the job profile and test objectives to determine which question types will best assess the competencies required for the job role.
Next, consider the test format. Will the test be timed or untimed? When designing a test, the duration of the test is a crucial factor to consider. The test should be long enough to accurately evaluate the candidate's skills and knowledge but not too long that it becomes tedious or overwhelming. The ability to set time limits for each section of the test ensures that the test is efficient and effective. Another question to ask is if there will be sections, and if so, how will they be structured? Choosing a method of sectioning that aligns with the content and purpose of the test is essential. A well-sectioned test can help both the test creator and the test taker to understand the structure of the test and to focus on specific areas of content.
Finally, consider the scoring system. Will there be partial credit for certain answers? How will you ensure that the test is scored objectively and without bias? Consider incorporating dimensions or side effects to measure cognitive ability, personality traits, or mental health status. Dimensions can help ensure that your assessment is comprehensive and measures different aspects of the construct or concept you want to evaluate. Additionally, make sure the test items are relevant, clear, and free from any potential biases.
Overall, the goal is to create a test that accurately and effectively measures the competencies required for the job role while ensuring fairness and objectivity in the testing process.
Administering the test is an important step in the development of a pre-employment test because it involves the actual implementation of the assessment. This process requires careful planning and execution to ensure that the assessment is fair, reliable, and valid.
During the online test administration process, administrators need to ensure that the assessment user interface is set up properly and the authentication method is selected. Additionally, creating public assessment processes, collecting data from candidates, and determining the dates between which the assessment process is accessible are all essential elements of the process.
Providing instructions to candidates, customizing assessment settings for individual candidates, and registering candidates for the assessment are crucial aspects of the test administration process. Real-time proctoring of tests and candidates, as well as handling incomplete exams and canceling assessments, are also critical components of the online test administration process.
Moreover, it is important to prioritize security features to ensure the integrity of the assessment process. Some important security features include timed assessments, lockdown browser mode, and test and question randomization. Timed assessments can help prevent cheating and ensure that candidates are completing the assessment within a given timeframe. Lockdown browser mode can prevent candidates from opening other tabs or windows during the assessment, limiting their ability to cheat or tamper with the assessment. Implementing these security features can help create a fair and reliable assessment process. Real-time monitoring of testing sessions is another invaluable feature that allows for viewing candidates' progress and timely intervention if needed. This enables prompt identification of issues or anomalies, such as candidates struggling with specific questions or taking longer than expected to complete the test. Such information can be used to provide support or intervene as necessary, safeguarding the validity and reliability of the test results.
By administering the test properly, administrators can ensure that the assessment is a fair and accurate representation of candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Analyzing test results can yield invaluable insights into candidate performance and the effectiveness of the assessment process. Comprehensive reports generated from the assessment data can provide a wealth of comprehensive information, including overall scores, test completion times, and a detailed breakdown of candidate performance on each measurement objective.
These reports can be easily customized to incorporate your company's branding, creating a consistent and professional look. Furthermore, the reports can be exported in various formats, such as Excel, CSV, or PDF, allowing for convenient sharing and analysis. Additionally, norm-referenced reports can be generated to compare candidate performance to a larger population, providing essential context for interpreting the results and benchmarking against industry standards.
With the ability to tailor reports to your organization's branding and export them in multiple formats, as well as the availability of norm-referenced reports, the assessment data can be effectively utilized to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions about candidate performance.
Once the test results have been analyzed, it's time to optimize the test. This includes reviewing the test content, analyzing the test results, and making any necessary changes to improve the test's effectiveness. Review the test items for relevance, difficulty level, and clarity. Identify any questions that have low discrimination or low correlation with the overall test score and remove them if necessary. You can also consider adding new items that better assess the skills or knowledge you are targeting. Additionally, you may adjust the test length, modify the scoring criteria, or change the format of the test. The goal is to create a test that accurately and efficiently assesses the skills or knowledge necessary for the job or task at hand.
