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On the Economies of a Pre-Screening Technique for Aptitude Test Batteries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

A. G. Arbous  and
H. S. Sichel
A. G. Arbous
Affiliation:
National Institute for Personnel Research South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
H. S. Sichel
Affiliation:
National Institute for Personnel Research South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
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Abstract

Test battery selection is justified on the grounds that it is more efficient than the conventional methods. More precise definitions of efficiency have shown that the additional cost of test administration can often outweigh the gains of selecting a more competent group of persons. Final evaluation of the profit and loss account can be made only when no further economies can be effected in the selection procedures themselves. A psychometric pre-screening technique which will reduce this cost considerably is developed here. Its psychometric structure is mathematically defined, and its advantages illustrated in terms of testing economy (E) and losses (L) of good material for different selection ratios (S.R.). It is shown that, under many circumstances, the testing economy can be considerable, and that in all practical cases “Losses” will be ≤ 1.5% for all values of ρ ≥ .8 (between the pre-screening test and the final battery). The technique in practice is illustrated from a set of data.

Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , September 1952 , pp. 331 - 346
Copyright
Copyright © 1952 The Psychometric Society

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Footnotes

*

The authors wish to thank the staff members of the Statistical and Industrial Research Teams of the National Institute for Personnel Research for their assistance in the computational work, preparation of diagrams, and editing of this paper.

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