The City of Lakewood has a test that it uses to screen potential applicants for
ID: 3158374 • Letter: T
Question
The City of Lakewood has a test that it uses to screen potential applicants for the position of Fireman. It consists of 50 yard dash, scaling a ladder (for time), carry a heavy pack for a 100 yards, and all of this in a firefighting equipment….There is also a test using the fire axe to break thorough a door (also timed). The total score is used to screen applicants (100 point scale). The cut off score is 70. Many women applicants complain that the gloves and boots are too big and hurts their times…in fact none have passed the test. The City maintains the test is representative of the job of firefighter. Analyze and discuss and decide the case.
What type of validity are they using? Explain it. Is this the appropriate type or should they use another? Is reliability an issue here? Why or why not. Explain and defend you answer. Any suggestions for improving the test and/or validation procedure?
Explanation / Answer
Here, Criterion related validity is used, which examine sthe ability of the measure to to predict a variable that i sdesignated as a criterion. This is absolutely appropriate whre applicants are need to be screende on basis of certain criterion, and therefore, their ability need to be verified.
Reliability is an issue here, because, the applicants should be allowed to perform under repeated similar situation and consistency of their outcome need to be measured to see if they produce same results or not. If they produce same or nearly sam eresults then the test will b econcluded to be highly reliable.