T
oday's business and technological environment has increased the need for assessment of human competence. Any competitive advantage in the global economy requires that the most competent workers be identified and retained. Furthermore, training and development, HRD, and performance technology agencies are increasingly required to justify their existence with evidence of effectiveness. These pressures have heightened the demand for better assessment and the distribution of assessment data to line managers to achieve organizational goals. These demands increasingly present us with difficult issues. For example, if you haven't tested, how can you show that those graduates you certify as ''masters'' are indeed masters and can be trusted to perform competently while handling dangerous or expensive equipment or materials? What would you tell an EEO officer who presented you with a grievance from an employee who was denied a salary increase based on a test you developed? These and other important questions need to be answered for business, ethical, and legal reasons. And they can be answered through doable and cost-effective test systems.
As certification and competency testing are increasingly used in business and industry, correct testing practices make possible the data for rational decision making.