1. Copyright © 2007 Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
Understanding Your OPAC Validation Report Includes an overview of how OPAC uses your own job experts to set effective and fair cutoff scores
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Copyright © 2007 Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.

2. Please send comments or suggestions to info@opac.com
This presentation is provided to OPAC System users as part of their OPAC Plus Service Plan Membership
Please send comments or suggestions to
OPAC® and Office Proficiency Assessment & Certification® are registered trademarks of Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.

3. Welcome!
This presentation provides an overview of the OPAC Validation Report and how cutoff scores for OPAC tests are determined. We hope that you find this presentation helpful.
OPAC Validation Reports are produced by the OPAC System once an employer’s subject matter experts (also referred to as “job experts” in this presentation) have taken one or more tests in an AutoTest Code while the Validation Wizard feature is turned “on.”
Validation Reports are printed from the “Validation Report” link from the “Reporting” section of the OPAC Administrator’s program (see next slide).
Additional information about the Validation Wizard process may be found in the OPAC Administrator’s Manual.

4. To access and print a Validation Report…
“Screen shot” of the OPAC Administrator’s Program
1. Click on the “Reporting” main menu option
2. Click on the “Validation Report” link
Note: Validation Reports can be accessed and printed only after one or more job experts have used the Validation Wizard feature for an AutoTest Code

5. “Screen shot” of the OPAC Administrator’s Program
Select the AutoTest Code of the Validation Report you wish to access
Then click here to access the report you selected

6. “Screen shot” of the OPAC Administrator’s Program
This white area contains some of the information that will be found in the Summary portion of the Validation Report once it is printed
Before printing a Validation Report from the Administrator’s Program, select both the Detail and Summary report options
Click here to print the
Validation Report

7. The Validation Report would then be printed by the OPAC System and ready for review

8. The following are a few notes that may help you during this presentation…
The term “AutoTest Code” refers to a series of tests that a test administrator groups together for a single job prior to the Validation Wizard being used.
The term “SME” refers to the job experts who have responded to the Validation Wizard’s survey questions.
SMEs (or job experts) are current successful target job performers, and/or supervisors who have held the target job, and/or instructors or trainers for the targeted job classification.
The term “SEM” refers to the “standard error of measurement,” a statistical term which will be explained in detail later in this presentation.

9. There are two sections to the Validation Report
Detailed section
Summary section
This presentation will focus on each section separately, starting with the detailed section

10. Page 1 of the detailed section of the
Validation Report starts like this
Date the Validation Report was printed

11. Page 1 of the detailed section of the
Validation Report starts like this
Name of AutoTest Code that was validated and number of tests in this AutoTest Code
Name of the test that was validated. Each test in a validated AutoTest Code has its own section in the Validation Report.
Number of job experts who have validated this specific test
Names of job experts who have taken this test with the Validation Wizard turned “on”

12. The detailed portion of the Validation Report begins like this
Job experts’ race, gender, years of experience, and the date they validated this test

13. The detailed Validation Report continues like this
The next few pages in the Validation Report include the job experts’ responses to the Validation Wizard’s survey questions

14. Examples of more of the job experts’ responses to the Validation Wizard’s survey questions

15. This is an example of the final portion of the detailed Validation Report section for each test, titled “Results and Recommended Cutoff Scores”

16. OPAC provides users with four possible cutoff scores to determine who “passes” or “fails” the test

17. So, you might ask, how are cutoff scores determined by the OPAC System and which should you use?

18. First we will examine how cutoff scores are determined by the OPAC system
Cutoff scores are determined by the OPAC system based on feedback from your own job experts who have used the Validation Wizard feature.
We would look to Question #5 in the Validation Report for each of the tests that have been validated using the Validation Wizard feature to understand how this is done.

19. Question #5 in the Validation Report
The cutoff scores suggested by your job experts are used to determine who passes and fails the test
The next few slides will show you how

20. The “SME’s Score” column contains the scores your job experts obtained when they took this test

21. Note: Only the cutoff scores your job experts suggested are used for computing the cutoff score
In accordance with the U.S. v. South Carolina Supreme Court decision the scores your job expert’s achieved on this test are NOT directly used when computing the cutoff score

22. Instead, your job experts are informed by the OPAC Validation Wizard what they scored on this test when they took it (i.e., the number shown in the “SME’s Score” column for that test taker).
They then are asked for their recommendation as to what a minimally qualified job candidate should score to be considered for hiring (which is shown in the “Suggested Cutoff Score” column).
The score each job expert received when they took this test is shown in this column in the Validation Report
The minimum score they recommended that a minimally qualified job candidate should attain to be considered qualified for the job is shown in this column

23. This is the Validation Wizard survey question concerning cutoff scores that the job experts respond to during the Validation Wizard process 48
WPM (words per minute) 35
WPM (number only)

24. Note: The term “Mean” in this report refers to the statistical average
Then, the average of all of the cutoff scores suggested by your job experts is shown here in Question #5 of the report
Note: The term “Mean” in this report refers to the statistical average

25. The average (or “mean”) suggested cutoff score from Question #5 is also shown here in the “Results and Recommended Cutoff Scores” section of each test you have validated

26. U.S. v. South Carolina, 434 US 1026 (1978)
Question: If this is the cutoff score my job experts recommend, why should I consider using any other cutoff score?
Answer: Because no tests are perfect. They include "measurement error" and the U.S. Supreme Court has supported adjusting minimum passing (cutoff) scores to account for this.
U.S. v. South Carolina, 434 US 1026 (1978)

27. The U.S. Supreme Court has supported that when a test is used for selection (i.e., hiring) purposes, employers consider adjusting the cutoff score downward one, two, or three standard error of measurements (SEMs) considering the five factors below

28. What is a Standard Error of Measurement?
The standard error of measurement for this test is shown here in the Validation Report
What is a Standard Error of Measurement?
If a person were to take the same test repeatedly, with no change in his or her level of knowledge and preparation, it is possible that some of the resulting scores would be slightly higher or slightly lower than the score that precisely reflects the person’s actual level of knowledge and ability. The Standard Error of Measurement sets a boundary around where these hypothetical scores will lie. For example, a person who scores 45 on a typing test that has a SEM of 5 would most likely score between 40 and 50 about 70% of the time.

29. SEM refers to the standard error of measurement
If you had to compute the standard error of measurement yourself, you would use this formula
SEM refers to the standard error of measurement
SD refers to the standard deviation of test scores
rxy refers to the reliability of the test
For more details, refer to the “Test Validation” chapter, “Cutoff Scores” section, of the OPAC Administrator’s Manual
Note: More sophisticated methods are available for computing conditional SEMs (SEMs that change throughout the test score range) for tests that have more test items than are typically contained on OPAC tests.

30. If you had to compute the standard error of measurement, you would use this formula
SEM refers to the standard error of measurement
SD refers to the standard deviation of test scores
rxy refers to the reliability of the test
The OPAC System
automatically computes the standard error of measurement and adjusted cutoff scores so you don’t have to
For more details, refer to the “Test Validation” chapter, “Cutoff Scores” section, of the OPAC Administrator’s Manual

31. For example, the mean less one SEM for this test is
the mean of suggested cutoffs (32.900) minus one SEM (2.629), which is This is rounded out to 30.
Calculating the adjusted cutoff scores using the standard error of measurement
The mean less two SEMs for this test is
the mean of suggested cutoffs (32.900) minus two SEMs (5.382), which is This is rounded out to 28.
We follow the same logic for the mean less three SEMs

32. So, the U.S. Supreme Court recommends you consider using one of these three cutoff scores instead of the mean of suggested cutoffs
Consider these five factors when deciding which cutoff score you wish to use

33. Of those job candidates who passed
Of those job candidates who passed* the test, can I hire those who scored the highest on the test rather than those who scored lower on the test?
*“Passing” means that the test takers being considered have scored at or above the cutoff score you have determined to be appropriate for the target job

34. If the word “Rank” is shown here on your Validation Report you would have the option to “rank order” test takers according to their test scores. For example, you can put the highest scoring person in first place, the next highest second place, and so on, and then hire from that list.
Warning: Rank ordering by test scores often leads to greater adverse impact against some groups of test takers. Do not rank order unless you have a very good, business-related reason for doing so.

35. A rank ordering process should not be used for tests that measure knowledge, skills, or abilities that are only needed at some minimum levels on the job
Also, rank ordering is appropriate only for tests that distinguish between acceptable and above acceptable performance on the target job
There is potentially lower liability when considering everyone who passes the test to be equally qualified than when rank ordering by test scores
We advise that you consult with your legal advisor when making the determination whether to rank order test takers for the target job

36. If the words “Pass/Fail” are shown here on your Validation Report you should consider all applicants who score at or above the cutoff score you choose to be equally qualified in the knowledge, skill, or ability measured by this test.
Pass/Fail
You should never rank order based on scores from an OPAC test if the words “Pass/Fail” are indicated.

37. The Summary Portion of the OPAC Validation Report

38. This is an example of the Report Summary Section of the Validation Report
The Report Summary portion of an OPAC Validation Report contains key elements from the detailed report sections of all of the tests in the AutoTest Code that was validated

39. Names of the tests in this AutoTest Code
AutoTest Code name and number of tests in this AutoTest Code are shown here on the report
Indicates whether your job experts found these tests to be valid (a “Yes” means they are valid; a “No” means this test should not be used for employment purposes for this job)
Names of the tests in this AutoTest Code

40. The number of job experts who validated this test is shown here
Cutoff1 is the mean cutoff score for this test less one SEM, Cutoff2 is the mean less two SEMs, and Cutoff3 is the mean less three SEMs
Note: The courts have suggested using 7 to 10 job experts to validate a test. Of course, you can always use more if you wish.

41. This indicates whether you can rank order based upon test results
“Rank” indicates you can rank order based on the results of that test.
You also have the option to consider everyone who passes the test to be equally qualified if the word “Rank” appears here. In other words, you do not have to rank order your job candidates.
“P/F” indicates you should not rank order based on scores from this test. Instead, everyone who passes this test should be considered equally qualified in the knowledge, skill, or ability measured by this test.

42. We hope this presentation has been helpful to you!
Please refer to your OPAC Administrator’s Manual for more details about the validation process when using the Validation Wizard feature
Please send comments or suggestions to
OPAC® and Office Proficiency Assessment & Certification® are registered trademarks of Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.