The Judicial-Legal Definition of Discrimination in Testing

Abstract

In the last several years, there has been a revolution in the field of personnel testing. The revolution is due to the fact that the federal courts have assumed the role of tester of testers in extending a series of challenges to civil service and other personnel examinations. The ramifications of this intervention by the federal courts into personnel testing have been far-reaching. Public and private employers can no longer casually select an examination or other personnel selection device without running the risk that a successful challenge will be made to the list resulting from the test, thereby preventing appointments from being made. The result has clearly been a more careful application of the principles of sound test construction by civil service commissions and personnel departments.