How To Choose a Test

There are literally hundreds of tests available that an employer may use. Excluding the specific skills tests and honesty/integrity tests, most employers that use testing want to know about an individual’s mental abilities and personality traits. And, they want to know how a person’s scores compare to the requirements of the job.

So, how do you choose a test that is right for you? Consider the following:

What Is Measured

Mental skills or intelligence testing alone is an inadequate predictor of successful job performance. An analysis of an individual’s personality without insight into how that person learns and processes information is incomplete. Since both are needed, you should choose an instrument that combines mental and personality measurement in one tool.

How Results Are Presented

Most tests provide single score or pass/fail scoring. While easy to interpret, such scoring systems can be difficult to link directly to job requirements, and often lead to over-reliance on test results and subject users to compliance and litigation concerns. Choose a test that provides scores on a scale that can be related to the Normal Distribution (Bell Curve) and that easily relates scores to the job requirements, preferably by means of a benchmark of successful performers.

To learn more about one instrument that includes mental and personality measurement and a scoring system that is not subject to the concerns of the pass/fail methods, click here.