Answer Geek

Answer geeks (and we use that term with great respect): Where would we be without them? They help guide us through the challenges of online learning, the Internet, courseware development, and those other intersections of learning and technology.

QUESTION

What is the future of online assessments for learners, developers, and employers?

ANSWER

Archibald
Online assessments allow you to confirm your qualifications through a third-party evaluation service. When you complete an online assessment, your subject-matter knowledge is measured and if you meet minimum criteria, then you usually receive a certification.

I envision even more online assessments in the future. Job candidates who make their assessment results available to potential employers or recruiting firms can stand out from other applicants. Because jobs in certain fields are scarce, having an extra certification over a competitor can be worth the expense of the assessment. If demand for assessments increase, as I suspect it will, the costs might rise.

If you’re interested in taking online assessments, make sure to review the service provider’s privacy and security policies. You want to ensure that your information will be available only to people you want to see it and that no one is able to get into the system and impersonate you. Someday, biometrics may help to confirm that the person taking the assessment is really you.

It’s important to note that online assessments usually only measure knowledge, not performance. Knowledge can be a predictor of performance, but knowledge assessments are no guarantee. Just because someone tests well doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll use that knowledge well.

Yakimovicz
I'd say the future of online assessments is pretty bright, for several reasons. First, assessment software is very easy to use. There’s no lengthy learning curve for developers like other e-learning software. The challenge is to learn how to write good test questions.

Second, certification is becoming more important for more jobs. Technical skills were first to be certified, but the use of certification has spread to more industries and job functions. Many state and association certification programs are moving to online Level 2 testing in order to manage the application, scoring, and reporting processes more easily with fewer staff. And internal certification programs are becoming more popular. Those too use Level 2 testing that’s easily accommodated with online applications.

After being certified, people usually need continuing education. To reach learners in rural areas or those without travel budgets, continuing education is going online or to self-study correspondence courses. Either model is more likely to have online testing than face-to-face workshops and seminars.

As companies move more jobs to offshore locations, testing is expanding its reach as a way to manage work quality at a distance.

Voci
Just as the Internet has gained wide acceptance as a tool for job hunting, online assessments have proven useful to corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions with a myriad of applications. For example, one provider, Performance Assessment Network, creates branded online assessment centers for clients to handle application forms, tests, timed tests, 360's, surveys, market research, and essentially any kind of data harvesting required. Integrated with an applicant tracking system, corporations such as Proctor & Gamble find online assessments effective for global recruitment. Similarly, the Canadian government uses online assessments for pre-employment skills tests, civil service exams, and all management 360's. SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), along with Motorola University, Ivy Tech State College, and UPS all have re-branded assessment centers for hiring and training.

Online staffing assessments have come into widespread use only in the last five years. However, the content and methods used to create them are based more than 50 years of personnel selection science and research. When used properly, online staffing assessments improve the quality of hiring and placement decisions because they can make precise, data-based predictions about an applicant’s ability to fit into a specific work environment or perform a specific job. Assessments are able to predict performance drivers such as customer service skills, technical skills, problem solving and learning styles, sales abilities, leadership skills, teamwork, and organizational commitment. A study conducted by RadioShack found that the use of staffing-assessment tools for hourly workers was associated with an increase in revenue of about $10 per hour per employee. That translates to an annual revenue increase of more than $12,000 per part-time hourly employee. Given that RadioShack has well over 1000 part- and full-time hourly employees, the total ROI from the assessment system exceeds $12 million a year.

Corporate training and development managers are increasingly expected to provide tailored training plans for learners as part of a competency-based system. In order to accomplish that, they must first conduct a skills-gap analysis to determine the areas in which to target development. Online assessments are cost-effective and enable testing large numbers of employees quickly. The wide variety of test instruments available online provides maximum utility to training and human resource managers.

Finally, with estimates of annual economic losses to American business from employee theft ranging from $15 billion to $25 billion per year and as much as 30 percent of all business failures attributed to employee theft, companies are interested in finding ways to detect or prevent employee theft. Prior to the passage of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, the pre-employment lie detector was the method of choice for screening applicants. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of the four million polygraphs given annually were for pre-employment selection purposes.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act changed all that. Except in a few instances, private employers were prohibited from using a pre-employment polygraph to screen applicants. Since that tool was no longer available, companies turned to paper and pencil integrity tests to perform the function. By 1990, it was estimated that 6,000 organizations administered up to 5 million integrity tests annually. Online tests, however, have quickly replaced those by offering speed, accuracy, and 24-hour availability

In conclusion, online assessments will continue to enhance the field of training and development in coming decades. As learners' expectations continue to demand continuous learning and career development from employers, and as the age of "Me.com" (reflected in personalized services such as life coaches, personal trainers, and tailored development) takes root in daily corporate life, online assessments will necessarily become standard tools in corporate training departments.

For more information, please refer to the US Department of Labor’s Publication: “Testing And Assessment: An Employer’s Guide To Good Practices.” See also the Society for Human Resource Management legal report for Sept-Oct. 99 at the SHRM Website. The Performance Assessment Network site also contains reports and information; visit www.pantesting.com

Published: August 2003