Predictive Validity of an Entry-Level Police Officer Assessment Center
Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 74, No 5, 1989
3 Pages Posted: 4 Mar 2015 Last revised: 6 Mar 2015
Date Written: 1989
Abstract
Assessment center ratings on 275 police recruits correlated .14 (p < .05) with training academy performance and .20 (p < .05) with on-the-job performance. Lower validity for this assessment center compared with published meta-analytic validities on assessment centers is discussed in the context of several unique study characteristics: the police sample, difficulties in measuring police performance, number of scale points used in the assessment center, and the relatively small number of exercises used in the center. Using the same sample, a composite of two cognitive ability tests correlated .31 and .17 with training performance and job performance, respectively. Strictly on the basis of the obtained validities, results do not support the use of assessment centers for police selection compared with cognitive ability tests.
Keywords: assessment center for police officers, entry-level, predictive validity, selection examination
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