NCJ Number
218100
Date Published
November 1994
Length
178 pages
Annotation
This report describes a recent empirical validation study of the California, Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Reading and Writing Tests and summarizes several previous POST studies.
Abstract
The results of this research indicate that the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Reading and Writing Test Battery provides a reliable and valid measure of an examinee’s aptitude to perform writing-related activities in basic training, in subsequent field training, and even later as a tenured patrol officer. The results also suggest that Read/Write Test scores are predictive of students’ acquired knowledge of the basic training curriculum, as measured by achievement test scores. The scores were also found to provide a measure of the likelihood of successful completion of basic training. Results pertaining to alternative test batteries suggest that while little or no significant gain in prediction resulted from several alternative test batteries studied, it may be possible to construct a shorter test battery that predicts academy and job performance comparably to the current battery. This study addressed major issues pertaining to the empirical validity of scores on the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Reading and Writing Test Battery, an Essay Test, and several alternative configurations of these tests as predictors of subsequent performance in basic training and on the job or field training. The practical utility of Reading and Writing Test scores was also examined in terms of expected gains in employee performance that would be realized at different passing score levels. Tables, references, and Appendixes A-H