Assessment by the Public Service Commission: Supporting Documentation

Updates

Updates

Date	Dataset	Note
31/03/2018	CFPPSC_AR3E	Methodology Change – Since its first use in fiscal year 2013-2014, the Public Service Entrance Exam - Unsupervised Internet Test 370 (PSEE UIT 370) accounts for a portion of the volume for unsupervised on-line tests. The PSEE UIT 370 has two sub-tests (one for assessing reasoning and one for assessing judgement) which, until 2015-2016, were counted as separate test administrations in this tally. As of fiscal year 2016-2017, this test and its two sub-tests are counted as a single test administration to more accurately reflect the way it is used. Accordingly, the volumes for fiscal years 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 have been updated retroactively to reflect the new method of calculating the test volume.
03/08/2018	CFPPSC_AR3D	Methodology Change – As of fiscal year 2014-2015, data for non-executive assessments (excluding second language evaluation tests) includes unsupervised internet testing.
12/06/2019	CFPPSC_AR3D	Methodology Change – As of 2016-2017, theexecutive and non-executive assessment volumesexclude the reference checks volume. This change is in accordance with the official withdrawal of this service by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
12/06/2019	CFPPSC_AR3F (Valid until June 2019)	Dataset Not Updated – As of fiscal year 2019-2020, the “Departmental tests administered using the On-line Testing Facility (OLTF) platform, by fiscal year” dataset has been integrated into the “Paper and on-line testing usage, by fiscal year (CFPPSC_AR3E)” dataset. Although these aren’t PSC tests, these were administered using the PSC’s OLTF platform.
12/06/2019	CFPPSC_AR3E	Datasets Merged: The “Departmental tests administered using the OLTF platform, by fiscal year” dataset has been integrated into the “Paper and on-line testing usage, by fiscal year (CFPPSC_AR3E)” dataset. Although these aren’t PSC tests, these were administered using the PSC’s OLTF platform.
12/06/2019	CFPPSC_AR3A CFPPSC_AR3B CFPPSC_AR3C (Valid until June 2019)	Datasets Not Updated – As of fiscal year 2019-2020 the data in these datasets have been combined into one dataset, the CFPPSC_SLE01.
12/06/2019	CFPPSC_SLE01	Datasets Merged: As of fiscal year 2018-2019, the pass rates of the Test of Oral Proficiency, the Test of Written Expression and the Test of Reading Comprehension (in both English and French) will be combined into a single dataset.
12/01/2020	CFPPSC_SLE02	New dataset: Pass rates for the English and French Test of Oral Proficiency, Test of Written Expression, and Test of Reading Comprehension, by department, level and fiscal year
24/03/2020	CFPPSC_SLE03	New dataset: Pass rates for the English and French Test of Oral Proficiency, Test of Written Expression, and Test of Reading Comprehension, by department, by region, level and fiscal year

Background Information

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible for evaluating second official language proficiency in appointment processes through the Second Language Evaluation standardized tests for oral proficiency, written expression and reading comprehension in both English and French.
The PSC supports deputy heads in maintaining and enhancing a merit-based appointment system by sharing knowledge and providing advice and guidance. The PSC reviews assessment tools and processes and provides advice in order to improve them. Departments and agencies also have access to a range of standardized assessment tools, developed and maintained by the PSC, for selection and development.

Dataset Documentation

*Regarding “Notes”: for each entry the content in brackets refers to a variable within the dataset.
Pass rates for the English and French Test of Oral Proficiency, Test of Written Expression, and Test of Reading Comprehension, by level and fiscal year (CFPPSC_SLE01)

• Source: Public Service Commission Test Scoring and Results Reporting System
• Note 1: Pass rates reflect the number of successful tests at a given level, divided by the total number of tests for which that level is required, expressed as a percentage. Levels A, B and C correspond to basic, intermediate and advanced levels of second language proficiency.
• Note 2: Overall, our clients require that their candidates attain a specific level (A, B or C) for about 80% of Second Language Evaluation tests.
• Note 3: Pass rates can vary from year to year for different reasons. For example, there may be changes in the socio-demographic profile of test-takers, changes in the reasons for which candidates are taking the test (e.g., staffing, training, or other), or changes to policies and procedures within the public service. These changes can have an impact on success rates.
• Note 4 (Pass_Rate): To calculate a pass rate, the sample must meet our minimum criterion of 50 results. A cell that does not meet our minimum criterion is marked "N.A.".

Pass rates for the English and French Test of Oral Proficiency, Test of Written Expression, and Test of Reading Comprehension, by department, level and fiscal year (CFPPSC_SLE02)

• Source: Public Service Commission Test Scoring and Results Reporting System
• Note 1: Pass rates reflect the number of successful tests at a given level, divided by the total number of tests for which that level is required, expressed as a percentage. Levels A, B and C correspond to basic, intermediate and advanced levels of second language proficiency.
• Note 2: Overall, our clients require that their candidates attain a specific level (A, B or C) for about 80% of Second Language Evaluation tests.
• Note 3: Pass rates can vary from year to year for different reasons. For example, there may be changes in the socio-demographic profile of test-takers, changes in the reasons for which candidates are taking the test (e.g., staffing, training, or other), or changes to policies and procedures within the public service. These changes can have an impact on success rates.
• Note 4 (Pass_Rate): To calculate a pass rate, the sample must meet our minimum criterion of 50 results. A cell that does not meet our minimum criterion is marked "N.A.".

Pass rates for the English and French Test of Oral Proficiency, Test of Written Expression, and Test of Reading Comprehension, by department, by region5, level and fiscal year (CFPPSC_SLE03)

• Source: Public Service Commission Test Scoring and Results Reporting System
• Note 1: Pass rates reflect the number of successful tests at a given level, divided by the total number of tests for which that level is required, expressed as a percentage. Levels A, B and C correspond to basic, intermediate and advanced levels of second language proficiency.
• Note 2: Overall, our clients require that their candidates attain a specific level (A, B or C) for about 80% of Second Language Evaluation tests.
• Note 3: Pass rates can vary from year to year for different reasons. For example, there may be changes in the socio-demographic profile of test-takers, changes in the reasons for which candidates are taking the test (e.g., staffing, training, or other), or changes to policies and procedures within the public service. These changes can have an impact on success rates.
• Note 4 (pass_rate): To calculate a pass rate, the sample must meet our minimum criterion of 50 results. A cell that does not meet our minimum criterion is marked "N.A.".
• Note 5 (region): Region corresponds to candidates’ residency. For analysis purposes, they are categorized in four groups: (1) east of Canada; (2) Quebec (without Gatineau); (3) the National Capital Region (Ottawa and Gatineau); and (5) west of Canada.

Executive and non-Executive assessment volumes, by fiscal year (CFPPSC_AR3D)

• Source: Public Service Commission (PSC) Test Scoring and Results Reporting System and PSC Assessment Centre Integrated Information System
• Note: As of fiscal year 2016-2017, this dataset does not include reference checks because the service was withdrawn.

Paper and on-line testing usage, by fiscal year (CFPPSC_AR3E)

• Source: Public Service Commission Test Scoring and Results Reporting System and On-line Testing Facility platform
• Note (Unsupervised on-line Tests): Excludes the Unsupervised Internet Test of Second Language Writing Skills.

Number of second language evaluation tests administered, by test and fiscal year (CFPPSC_AR3G)

• Source: Public Service Commission Test Scoring and Results Reporting System

Glossary

Glossary

Attribute name	Defined attribute name
assessment_e	Type of assessment (English)
assessment_f	Type of assessment (French)
description_e	Description of the presented statistic (English)
description_f	Description of the presented statistic (French)
fiscal_year	Fiscal year
n	Count
pass_rate_e	Pass rate expressed as a percentage (English)
pass_rate_f	Pass rate expressed as a percentage (French)
required level_e	Required level (English)
required level_f	Required level (French)
test_name_e	Test name (English)
test_name_f	Test name (French)
test_type_e	Type of test (English)
test_type_f	Type of test (French)
total_number_tests	Total number of tests
requesting_department_e	Requesting department (English)
requesting_department_f	Requesting department (French)
region_e	Candidates’ residency (English)
region_f	Candidates’ residency (French)