New Haven Results Show Need for Simulation Testing

Wishing to avoid a lawsuit with minority fire promotional candidates, the City of New Haven landed in the awkward, no-win position of claiming that the promotional test it used was unfair. Those who scored well stepped up to object, and the City of New Haven ended up in one of the most high profile cases of this Supreme Court session. The Supreme Court, ruling against the City of New Haven, established that organizations are engaging in discrimination if they throw out test results because of the ethnicity of those who got the best scores or simply to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit. Everyone is protected, not strictly minorities. So, what can other employers learn from this case?

The City was unable to convince the Supreme Court that this test was unfair. Does this ruling mean that written tests are safe for employers to use because they were upheld in court? No, the 5-4 ruling was close and divided. One of the majority justices in this decision is likely to soon be replaced on the Supreme Court by Judge Sotomayor, who ruled opposite on this very case at the appellate level. If another challenge is made, specifically regarding written test fairness, it is almost a coin toss as to the final decision. At this point, traditional written tests are clearly vulnerable to legal challenge.

Most organizations would prefer to stay out of a fight like the City of New Haven has fought, becoming a player in evolving national policy.

The issue that drove dissenting opinion on the court, and focused media comment, was this: A different type of test might have been more fair and produced different results. Strong doubt was repeatedly expressed with regard to the value of purely written tests on book source materials. With advances in technology, particularly video and simulation techniques, and the science of testing, there are much better ways to test candidates for entry and promotional jobs. Simulation is the key element. When tests simulate real life job demands, there is no confusion as to whether or not they are fair or what the results mean. At Ergometrics, we have understood this since the inception of our company in 1981. All aspects of testing, including modern written format tests, can be developed using simulation methodology. The further away a test is from the job, the more suspect it is in terms of fairness, as can be seen by the arguments and shaky decision in this case.

Employers must judge their testing programs on both fairness and job relatedness. It would be wrong to conclude that the New Haven decision means that fairness is less of a factor in evaluating testing practices. Police and fire are among the last holdouts in using traditional written book tests. Now is the time for public safety employers to evaluate new ways of testing and make changes to testing processes that are more valid, lead to fewer complaints and are less susceptible to legal challenges. The best examples of this type of test will always be simulation tests, which are, in fact, fairer and show greater diversity of outcome than traditional written tests. Traditional testing methods are outdated.

The bottom line is that the results of this Supreme Court case will have a long and deep impact on employment testing. Most organizations would prefer to stay out of a fight like the City of New Haven has fought, becoming a player in evolving national policy. It is an organization's responsibility to make sure that the tests it uses are fair and job related. Simulation test design is the most direct path to accomplishing this critical goal. Leading the industry in test design and integration of technology, Ergometrics can vastly improve your testing process. We have been developing simulation tests for 28 years and understand how to make tests that are in line with today's understanding of fairness. We hold every test question designed up to the rationale challenge "Is this type of decision something that an incumbent would routinely make on the job?" This standard has ensured that Ergometrics' tests have stayed out of court and legal challenges with many thousands of police and fire candidates tested nationally.

For 28 years, Ergometrics has developed the most innovative and job-related tests in the industry. Our experience and expertise allow us to design tests that focus on effective selection, fairness and defensibility. Ergometrics has more than 1300 clients in the U.S. and Canada. Forty three of the 50 largest city governments in the United States use Ergometrics' products, including: New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas and San Antonio.