Retaking Employment Tests: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know

Posted: 10 Apr 2017

See all articles by Chad H. Van Iddekinge

Chad H. Van Iddekinge

Florida State University - College of Business

John Arnold

Florida State University

Date Written: March 2017

Abstract

The extent to which test scores change upon retesting has important implications for both organizations and individuals who apply to those organizations. We review research on retesting and score changes that dates back nearly 100 years. Our findings suggest that compared to initial test scores, retest scores tend to be higher, more varied, and more reliable and tend to demonstrate somewhat stronger relations with criteria such as academic and job performance. There also is some evidence that retesting can change the constructs test scores reflect. However, empirical research has yet to clearly delineate factors that underlie such differences between initial and retest scores. We discuss implications of these findings for organizations and applicants. We also identify key unanswered questions about retesting that future research should address.

Suggested Citation

Van Iddekinge, Chad H. and Arnold, John, Retaking Employment Tests: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know (March 2017). Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 445-471, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2947683 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113349

Chad H. Van Iddekinge (Contact Author)

Florida State University - College of Business ( email )

423 Rovetta Business Building
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1110
United States

John Arnold

Florida State University ( email )

Tallahasse, FL 32306
United States

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