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Revisiting Assessment Validity for Predicting Overall Job Performance

Paul Sackett, PhD

The talk will summarize recent research that Paul and his colleagues have conducted, illustrating a need to revisit prior assumptions in our field regarding the validity of various personnel selection procedures.

The research revisits prior meta-analytic conclusions about the best predictors of overall job performance and illustrates that with different assumptions and methods for correcting for range restriction the rank order of predictors changes dramatically, with general mental ability (GMA) being far less predictive of overall performance than was previously reported. Additionally, new meta-analytic research on 21st century criterion-related validity data demonstrates that GMA is even less predictive of job performance in today’s work environment.

Finally, meta-analytic data will be shared on the relationships between six selection methods (biodata, GMA tests, conscientiousness, structured interviews, integrity tests, and situational judgment tests) used in various combinations to predict job performance, and the effects of forming composites that do and do not include GMA on validity and adverse impact, with new insights into the validity-diversity dilemma.

Paul R. Sackett (Ph.D, Ohio State, 1979) is the Beverly and Richard Fink Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His research interests revolve around various aspects of testing and assessment in workplace, military, and educational settings.

He served as founding editor of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) journal Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, and editor of Personnel Psychology. He has served as president of SIOP, as co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, as co-chair of SIOP’s Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures, as chair of APA's Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessments and Board of Scientific Affairs.

He is the only person to receive lifetime achievement awards in the three domains of teaching, research, and service from SIOP (Distinguished Teaching Contribution Award, Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Distinguished Service Contribution Award). He has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Ghent University, Belgium.

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