Differential Prediction of FAA Academy Performance on the Basis of Gender and Written Air Traffic Control Specialist Aptitude Test Scores

The technical fairness of the written air traffic control specialist (ATCS) aptitude test battery was investigated within the framework of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (29 CFR 1607). First, the adverse impact of using a composite score on the test battery was evaluated on...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Young, Willie C, Broach, Dana, Farmer, William L
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ADVERSE CONDITIONS
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
APTITUDE TESTS
BIAS
CORRELATION
EQUATIONS
INSTRUCTIONS
JOBS
LOW RATE
PERFORMANCE TESTS
PERSONNEL SELECTION
PREDICTIONS
Psychology
RATES
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
SCORING
SELECTION
SIZES(DIMENSIONS)
SKILLS
SPECIALISTS
Terminal Flight Facilities
TEST AND EVALUATION
WOMEN
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Summary:The technical fairness of the written air traffic control specialist (ATCS) aptitude test battery was investigated within the framework of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (29 CFR 1607). First, the adverse impact of using a composite score on the test battery was evaluated on an archival sample of 170,578 job applicants. Mean score differences by gender of 0.35 SD in the favor of men were found, suggesting that adverse impact on women could be expected from use of test scores in selection. Analysis of selection rates by gender found that women were classified as eligible for employment consideration on the basis of composite test scores at a lower rate (38.5%) than men (50.4%). Step-down hierarchical regression analysis (Lautenschlager & Mendoza, 1986) was used to investigate differential prediction of performance in initial ATCS training at the Federal Aviation Administration Academy in a sample of 9,552 first-time competitive entrants. Analysis based on correlations corrected for explicit and implicit restriction in range found significant differences in slopes and intercepts by gender, suggesting that separate regression equations were appropriate to predict Academy performance for the genders. The practical significance of the statistically small effect sizes is considered within the framework of current equal employment opportunity legislation and case law in the discussion of these results. The alternative explanation that these results reflect gender differences in job-related abilities, rather than test bias, is considered.