In what has been described as a reverse discrimination case, the Supreme Court has has agreed to hear what may be a potential landmark case that looks at the role of race in public sector hiring. The case involves firefighters in New Haven, CT who took a promotional exams. While 17 white and 1 Latino firefighter passed the exam, none of the African American candidates did. As a result, the city threw out the results because of adverse impact.
The firefighters subsequently filed suit. One of the core issues to be decided is whether test results can be disregarded solely on the basis of the race of the top scorers without violating the Equal Protection Clause and the prohibition against the use of race-based cut scores. (New Haven has apparently conceded that the exam itself was well-constructed and its validity is not in question.) Tom Sharf's article in the January 2009 SIOP TIP provides a good overview and interesting analysis of the case.
Here is the case before the Supreme Court and one of the earlier rulings.
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Supreme Court to Hear Ricci v. DeStefano
Cheating on Pre-Employment Assessments
While cheating is a concern to all in the testing industry, it is most often seen as a concern to those working in certification and education. However, a recent Wall Street Journal article describes how the current economic climate may be fostering an increase in cheating on pre-employment selection tests.
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ATP Conference Program and Registration
The program for the upcoming ATP Conference is posted on the conference website. Registration continues and be sure to make your room reservations prior to January 26, 2009 to obtain the negotiated room rate.
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I-O Division Leadership for 2009
January marks the annual change in leadership within the ATP Divisions. As a result, Ryan Ross becomes Chair for 2009. He will be ably assisted by John Weiner (Vice Chair) and Julie Carswell (Secretary).
This also marks the end of my term as a I-O Division chair. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for having had the opportunity to serve the division as well as ATP as whole. I am also grateful to those who shared their valuable time and efforts in supporting the goals of ATP.
Reid Klion
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ATP Intellectual Property Theft Collaborative Working Group
A number of working groups were formed as part of the 2008 ATP Test Security Summit. The IP Theft Collaborative Working Group has recently published its work product. If you don't have a password to access the wiki, there is information on the page on how to obtain one. Also, information on the 2009 Security Summit can be found on the ATP Conference website.
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Journal of Applied Testing Technology
The Association of Test Publishers publishes a peer-reviewed online journal, Journal of Applied Testing Technology edited by Chad W. Buckendahl and William G. Harris. The most recent article is a piece by Nathan Thompson, entitled "A Proposed Framework for Test Administration Methods." The article compares and contrasts a number of test administration methodologies including CBT, CAT, CCT, and LOFT.
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I-O Division Elections
Congratulations to Julie Carswell who has been elected Secretary of the I-O Division for 2009! She will join the 2009 I-O Division leadership team of Ryan Ross (Chair) and John Weiner (Vice Chair). Julie's contributions to the blog over the past year are much appreciated, and her continued involvement with be a boon to the Division and ATP.
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