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Frequently Asked Questions
FrontLine: Video Testing System for Law Enforcement TM
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How does FrontLine support modern policing?
What will FrontLine tell you about an applicant?
How does FrontLine work?
Who should take this test?
How do you give this test?
Why is work simulation used for this test?
What is the cost benefit of using FrontLine?
Has this test been validated?
What other testing is necessary?
What is the cost of FrontLine and what is included?
Who is ERGOMETRICS?
How do I order FrontLine?
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How does FrontLine support modern policing?
Modern policing trends focus on the community and the interaction of officers with the citizens they serve. The increasing diversity of our communities calls for officers who are skilled in dealing appropriately with all kinds of people. In asking hundreds of police specialists what the difference is between an average officer and an outstanding officer, the answer is consistently that the outstanding officer has good judgment and good human relations skills.
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What will FrontLine tell you about an applicant?
FrontLine is designed to assess a person's abilities in the areas of situational judgment, unbiased enforcement, gaining cooperation, ethics, human interaction, handling authority, social maturity, observation and analysis, and responding calmly to provocation and frustrating situations. This test represents a major breakthrough in law enforcement screening and hiring. For the first time, you can accurately and efficiently predict, before you hire, how an applicant will perform in these key skill areas.
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How does FrontLine work?
FrontLine is a video-based
multiple choice test consisting of 54 scenarios. Applicants see a typical situation they will face on the job, observe the various elements present, analyze the situation and make a quick judgment about how to respond. To score well on the test, they must evaluate each scenario as an entirely new situation and project the likely outcome of any given action.
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Who should take this test?
The most efficient and effective way to use FrontLine is to test everyone who applies. This test is designed to be the initial screening tool to identify those applicants who have outstanding skills in the area of human relations. Screening out applicants prior to testing with FrontLine limits the possibility of finding people with good judgment and outstanding human relations skills. Validation studies conducted by ERGOMETRICS show that prior experience and education are not reliable predictors of human interaction skills because they say nothing of how the person performed in those areas. Various administrative methods of reducing the applicant pool, such as evaluating applications, yield very poor results and waste the effort of recruiting.
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How do you give this test?
Any number of applicants can be tested at one time, so long as they can all see and hear the video. The test is easy to administer,
as simple as putting a video cassette in the player, and takes less than two hours. The test is machine-scored for ease of administration and quick results.
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Why is work simulation used for this test?
Actually simulating critical job demands is a more powerful employment testing technique than either traditional
paper and pencil tests or oral interviews. Simulation not only gives candidates a realistic job preview, but it ensures that the actual skills required on the job are directly measured by the test. A written test cannot possibly tell you very much about a person's
people handling skills.
Video is a practical job simulation medium for assessing human relations skills. Written and oral tests are dependent on the ability to completely describe situations with language. Not only is it impossible and impractical to describe the minute details of a situation, the question is dependent on each applicant's interpretation of what the scene is supposed to be. Video scenarios present exactly the same information to everyone, allow for careful staging of the events and the surrounding environment, and require applicants to observe and analyze the situation themselves. It is a realistic way to see how a person reacts to actual job situations before being hired and put on the job.
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What is the cost benefit of using FrontLine?
Hiring and training a new officer is a major expense in terms of both time and money. Validation studies on similar ERGOMETRICS' video tests show that improving the match between the applicant and the job dramatically lowers turnover and the use of leave. Also, FrontLine enables you to identify, early in the screening process, those applicants who have the key skills necessary to be a successful officer, thereby increasing the efficiency of subsequent testing procedures.
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Has this test been validated?
Yes. This test meets the American Psychological Association standards for a
content valid test. It was developed in conjunction with hundreds of officers and administrators in
eight major law enforcement agencies. The content of the scenarios and the answers to each were developed by law enforcement professionals working with test development experts from ERGOMETRICS. The video production was directed by test development experts from ERGOMETRICS working on-site with police subject matter specialists to ensure that every detail is accurate and realistic.
A criterion-related validation study was conducted with job incumbents from the sponsoring agencies. Their test scores were compared to special research-based performance evaluations completed by their supervisors. There is significant correlation between test scores and performance in the areas of public contact situations, maturity when intervening in stressful situations, initiative in handling and resolving situations and situational assessment and analysis. This high correlation between test scores and actual job performance validates the test's
ability to predict the future job performance of applicants. Additionally, other video tests developed by ERGOMETRICS all show extremely high correlation between test score and job performance.
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What other testing is necessary?
This test will supplement your existing testing process. After you have identified the pool of applicants with the human relations skills necessary to become
outstanding officers, they should progress through your routine testing process to evaluate other job-related skills. ERGOMETRICS has developed
complementary reading and writing tests for law enforcement that are available for your use. You may find that FrontLine will reduce the need for various types of oral tests that attempt to assess human relations and judgment skill areas.
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What is the cost of FrontLine and what is included?
This test is available both for purchase and for rental. The cost is based on the number of commissioned personnel in your department. If you purchase FrontLine, your department will receive two copies of the video test
all materials necessary for administration, and a license for perpetual use. You will also receive a job analysis, to be filled out by your officers, to document the job-relatedness of this test within your department. Finally, you will receive a validation report.
Smaller agencies may find it cost-effective to rent the test. Rental clients receive two copies of the video test
and all materials for administration for specified use in their agency, during the rental period.
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FrontLine is priced in relation to the size of your organization. Contact Karen Strom at ERGOMETRICS (425-774-5700) to find the most affordable option for your agency.
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Who is ERGOMETRICS?
ERGOMETRICS and Applied Personnel Research, Inc., is a Seattle based firm established in 1980. The co-founders are Carla Swander, nationally noted for the development of video-based testing tools, and Oscar Spurlin, Ph.D.,
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. This cutting edge firm has an extensive
public and private sector clientele across the United States and Canada. ERGOMETRICS specializes in personnel selection and training and is recognized for its expertise in the development of video-based selection and training programs, physical abilities testing, work simulation tests and validation research.
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How do I order FrontLine?
For more information about FrontLine or to place your order, call ERGOMETRICS at (425) 774-5700 or FAX (425) 774-0829.
We are very happy to answer your questions via e-mail, contact us here.
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