No. 4045
Subject: Employment Testing Guidelines
Rev.: 2
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Policy and Procedures
Date: February 3, 1999
It is the policy of the university to provide equal opportunity with respect to all employment practices, including employment testing. The guidelines for the use of employment tests for classified staff positions were developed to comply with the Department of Human Resource Management, Policy 2.10, Hiring, and with The Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990.
Any employment testing conducted by the university should be consistent with applicable federal guidelines concerning the use of employee selection procedures. The administration or use of any test, skill demonstration, or work example for the purposes of making employment decisions in the hiring of classified employees must be approved by Personnel Services.
With prior approval by Personnel Services, applicants may be asked to demonstrate job-related skills or provide work examples to assist hiring supervisors in their evaluation of candidates' qualifications. All similarly qualified applicants for a position must be given the same opportunity. The appropriate use of work examples or skill demonstrations will be determined by the hiring supervisor in consultation with Personnel Services and must be job-related and supported by the position description.
For positions where keyboarding is a principal task and the test requirement is listed in the job announcement, a valid typing or keyboarding test score is mandatory for all candidates. The determination whether to require a keyboarding or typing test will be made by the hiring supervisor in consultation with Personnel Services staff and must be supported by the position description.
To enable individuals from other localities to meet the testing requirement, test scores from the United States Employment Service (USES) test, administered by any Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) or other states' employment service offices, will be accepted. Test scores must include gross words per minute, number of errors, and the time period for the test.
A typing test score will be considered valid for a maximum of 12 months from the most recent test date for:
A typing test score will be considered valid for a maximum period of 36 months from the most recent test date for current employees in positions where typing is a principal task.
Individuals whose test scores are not on record must retake the typing test.
Other situations will be handled on an individual basis by Personnel Services.
Any test, work example, or skill demonstration must be administered to the candidates in a consistent manner. This means that similarly qualified candidates for a vacancy are provided the same opportunity, receive the same instructions, are tested in the same way, and are evaluated by the same criteria. However, an individual who has a known disability, which prevents them from taking the test or performing the skill demonstration, may request an accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may include, but are not limited to, use of adaptive equipment or aids, modification of the methods for providing instructions, or substitution of another method for evaluating the abilities, skills, or knowledge. Hiring supervisors who know of an applicant's disability or who receive requests for accommodation in testing or skill demonstrations should contact Personnel Services for assistance.
Writing samples, audition tapes or videos, or other work examples that will be used to assist in screening must be requested of all similarly qualified candidates at the same stage in the employment process. Objective criteria for evaluating work examples and performance demonstrations must be established prior to their use and reviewed by Personnel Services. The criteria and the candidate evaluations must be included in the documentation of the selection process.
Tests - Administered exercises with objective criteria used to establish performance levels or capabilities.
Work Example - an example of work capability as indicated by previously completed work assignments; including writing samples, audition tapes or videos, or other samples of work.
Skill or Ability Demonstration - Performance of a required job skill or ability such as equipment operation, writing, video production, etc., during the screening or interviewing phase of the employment process.
Approved August 3, 1989, by Associate Vice President for Personnel, Robert M. Madigan.
Reviewed June 1, 1992, by Associate Vice President
for Personnel and Administrative Services, Ann Spencer. No changes made.
Addition of general testing policy statements, work examples, and provisions for testing applicants with disabilities.
Approved June 18, 1993, by Associate Vice President
for Personnel and Administrative Services, Ann Spencer.
Section 2.1. General Testing - Addition that the requirement for general testing through the use of work samples or any skills demonstration must be job-related and supported by the job description.
Other minor clarifications.
Approved February 3, 1999, by Director of Personnel Services, Linda Woodard.
October 10, 2001: Technical corrections to update policy links and name change for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Human Resource Management (formerly Department of Personnel and Training).