Best practices for unsupervised testing

 

Under review - for assistance please contact your Staffing Support Advisor.

Document prepared by the Personnel Psychology Centre - October 2015

PDF version, 325 kb

The purpose of assessment in staffing is to determine whether the job candidate possesses the knowledge, skills, abilities or competencies necessary to perform the job in an effective way. To accomplish that, assessment instruments must be valid, reliable, fair and defensible.

This document presents best practices on the use, development, administration and scoring of unsupervised tests to protect the integrity, merit and fairness of assessment in appointment processes. The primary focus is on unsupervised knowledge tests taken at a location of the candidate’s choosing, often referred to as “take-home exams”. Much of the content may apply to other types of unsupervised assessment and may also vary by test type.

Table of contents

What is a “take-home exam”?

Advantages of take-home exams

Disadvantages of take-home exams

Best use of take-home exams

Guidelines for constructing essay questions

Test security guidelines

It is essential to provide explicit instructions about what is and what is not permitted. The following points are provided as examples of information that can be included in the instructions to increase the security and defensibility of a take-home exam.

The following is an example of take-home exam instructions given to students at Harvard University:

Guidelines for scoring essay questions

Additional recommendations

References

List of directive verbs

From Reiner, Bothell, Sudweeks & Wood, 2002

Checklist for scoring essay questions

Adapted from McMillan, 2001

Checklist for constructing essay questions

Adapted from Reiner, Bothell, Sudweeks & Wood, 2002

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