Assessment center promotional testing

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Since the advent of police civil service testing the primary method of selecting people for
promotion was a paper and pencil test (usually a 100-question, multiple choice exam)
followed by an oral examination in front of a panel of police officers one rank higher than
the applicant. Over the years the process evolved and candidates were provided a reading
list to study, more thought was given to parts and weights of the exam process (60 percent
written and 40 percent oral or some other math computation), and in some cases an essay
component was added to the process.
For many years, police professionals complained that the testing process had very little
relationship to actual job performance and tended to favor good test takers and did little
to test for the skills and abilities needed to successfully perform the job of a police sergeant,
for example. The result was that people received promotions to Sergeant, Lieutenant,
Captain, and above who couldnt lead themselves out of the building, let alone lead men
and women toward accomplishing organizational objectives. So a new method of testing
candidates for promotion began being used across the United States called an Assessment
Center Testing Process.
It has now become rare for me to not incorporate some form of assessment center testing in
the examination processes I create, especially for the higher police ranks.
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What is an Assessment Center?
An assessment center is not a place to go to take a test. It is a testing process in which
candidates participate in a series of systematic, job related, real-life situations while being
observed and evaluated by experts in policing, supervision, and management. Trained
evaluators, called assessors observe candidates individually and in groups performing
exercises/scenarios that simulate conditions and situations a sergeant (for example) would
encounter in real life. Its this attempt to simulate actual working conditions that separates
assessment center testing from the academics of written exams and much of the subjectivity
of oral tests.
A Brief History of Assessment Centers
During World War II, agents of the Office of Strategic Command (OSS) came to realize that
pure academic training and education were not adequately preparing their operatives for
real-life situations in wartime. Their people scored well on academic tests, but sometimes
didnt perform well under pressure and were unable to apply academic principles to real
people, places, and things. The OSS developed a series of situational tests that placed
operatives into situations that required specific performance behaviors to successfully
perform under the conditions they would face on actual assignment. This combination of a
written curriculum with situational exercises produced superior personnel. The private
sector quickly began using this testing methodology for selecting and promotion and it has

now spread to the police testing process.

How Situational Exercises are Developed
The primary method of developing the situational exercises (mini-tests) is similar to that
used in constructing more traditional promotional examinations. It begins with the
completion of a job task analysis. The specific knowledge, skills, behaviors, and
characteristics important to successfully performing the job of a sergeant (for example) in a
particular department must be determined. After these critical work behaviors are
identified exercises are developed which evaluate whether a candidate has the traits
required for the position. In assessment center testing these are known as critical success
factors or testing dimensions. They are the criteria against which candidates are
evaluated and tested. Here are some examples of critical success factors which might be
used or Police Lieutenant:
1. Supervision: Management and Administration: Knowledge of concepts and theories
relative to police supervision, management, and administration.
2. Oral Communication: Effective expression when presenting ideas to an individual or
group (includes non-verbal communication).
3. Written Communication: Clear expression of ideas in writing and use of correct form.
4. Planning and Organizing: Establishing a course of action for self and/or others to
achieve organizational goals; maintaining appropriate records; use of computer resources.
5. Control: Taking action to coach, monitor, evaluate and correct job tasks, activities, and
responsibilities of subordinates.
6. Environmental Awareness: Managing change. Using knowledge of changing situations
and pressures inside and outside of the department to identify potential problems and
opportunities. 7. Organizational Integrity: Action that indicates support for and
maintenance of departmental standards, norms, goals, and ethics.
8. Interpersonal Sensitivity: Actions that indicate an attention to the needs, feelings, and
expressions of others.
Obviously, under each of these testing dimensions there could be hundreds of identifiable
behaviors which make up what the dimension Supervision, for example, consists of.
Once the testing dimensions and underlying criteria are established I know what to test for
and what type of assessment center mini-test to use to best evaluate a candidate in a specific
area. The more a particular type of assessment center exercise measure the knowledge,
skills, abilities, and personal attributes of a candidate in the test dimensions listed above the
more valid and reliable the methodology is. For example, what is known as a
supervisor/subordinate or employee conflict mini-test in an assessment center might be
used. Typically the candidate is told to report to a room at a specific time. The room has a
desk and two chairs. Assessors are sitting in the room with the candidate observing him or
her. The candidate is given an envelope and told to follow the instructions inside. Here is
what a candidate for Sergeant might read:
DIRECTIONS FOR TAKING THIS EXAMINATION
You are responsible for budgeting your time during this examination. You have a total of
thirty (30) minutes to complete the entire examination process. At the end of twenty-five
minutes (or earlier should you conclude before the allotted time) the assessors may or may
not ask you questions.

Officer James is outside of this room right now waiting for you to call him in. Read the
Background and Facts and The Problem sections of this examination and to call Officer
James in and take whatever action as a police sergeant you deem necessary to resolve the
situation outlined in the scenario.
Assessors will be in the room and observing and grading how you handled the entire
employee conflict examination. You are to handle this situation and take the steps that
would be required if you were a Sergeant in the _____ Police Department.
Background and Facts
You are Sergeant John Jones and currently assigned as a Sergeant in the patrol division in
the _____ Police Department. Officer James works directly under your supervision. Officer
James is a 20-year veteran of the department. During the past six months Officer Jamess
job performance has significantly deteriorated. He is often late to work, has failed to submit
written reports in a timely fashion, reports he does complete contain obvious errors and
must be done over, and he has become argumentative. The officers appearance has
deteriorated. He has lost over twenty-five pounds in the past six months, has difficulty
moving from point to point, and his uniform doesnt fit properly and is often dirty. He has
used five six days in the past two weeks.
You suspect he may be a functional alcoholic.
Two weeks ago you had meeting with Officer James to discuss his job performance. Officer
James advised you he was having family problems and would shape up. He also
reminded you of his excellent past record and that he broke you in when you came on the
department.
The Problem
Officer James is on duty right now. He has a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, was thirty
minutes late for work, and is not in uniform. Officer James is outside of this room right now
waiting to see you at your request. Call Officer Jennings in and take whatever action you
deem necessary as a police sergeant to resolve the situation.
A role player plays the part of Officer James and the assessor are noting everything the
candidate does and says to the officer and grading the applicant for a series of what has
been pre-determined to be the appropriate method to handle the situation. Of the eight
testing dimensions previously identified five are critical in the scenario provided.
Supervision: Management and Administration: Knowledge of concepts and theories
relative to police supervision, management, and administration.
Oral Communication: Effective expression when presenting ideas to an individual or
group (includes non-verbal communication).
Planning and Organizing: Establishing a course of action for self and/or others to achieve
organizational goals; maintaining appropriate records; use of computer resources.
Control: Taking action to coach, monitor, evaluate and correct job tasks, activities, and
responsibilities of subordinates.
Organizational Integrity: Action that indicates support for and maintenance of
departmental standards, norms, goals, and ethics.
Interpersonal Sensitivity: Actions that indicate an attention to the needs, feelings, and

expressions of others.
There are many other Assessment Center mini-tests including the in-basket, leaderless
discussion, situational oral exam, and media event, to name just a few. Future articles will
provide insight on how to excel in each of them.