“Unfairness” in the 1978 Uniform Guidelines: The Definition Makes a Difference

Abstract

The 1978 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures contains three different definitions of unfairness in selection without acknowledging the differences. The fairness counterparts of these definitions correspond to Definitions 1, 2, and 3 of test fairness described in 1971 by Darlington. Suggestive of quotas, Definition 2 no longer commands attention among test users. A test is fair according to Definition 1 if people having equal test scores tend also to be equal in criterion performance while, according to Definition 3, a test is fair if people equal in criterion performance tend also to have equal test scores, regardless of how these people might differ demographically. Satisfaction of Definition 1 yields higher predictive validity than satisfaction of any other definition of test fairness. The difference in the case of Definition 3 tends in practice to be equal to only .02, however, and Definition 3 appears to be the more logically defensible of the two definitions. Although on tests that satisfy either definition of fairness black examinees generally score lower than white examinees, black and white examinees will tend to score four-fifths of a standard-deviation unit closer on a test that satisfies Definition 3 than on a test that satisfies Definition 1. Users of the 1978 Guidelines should be aware of these differences.