There are several considerations to keep in mind when choosing an assessment method. Read more about the following considerations in the glossary. Other considerations include the cost of administering an assessment and how the various considerations vary by assessment method.

• Face Validity/Applicant Reactions
• Subgroup Differences
• Utility/Return on Investment
• Validity

Assessment Method Costs

Cost is often a factor when choosing an assessment method, but there are many different types of costs to keep in mind

• Some assessments may have higher development costs and require more time, money, and technical expertise to develop.
• In other cases, some assessments could have higher administration costs and require greater resources (such as time, money, staff, equipment, facilities, and information technology support) to administer.

Summary of Assessment Methods on Five Considerations

The following table provides a summary of how each of the assessment methods discussed in this section rank on five of the assessment considerations covered in this section. Readers are encouraged to consult the specific section for a particular assessment method to fully interpret the rankings presented in this table.

Assessment Method	Assessment Consideration
	Validity	Face Validity	Subgroup Differences	Development Costs	Administration Costs
Accomplishment Records	High	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate
Assessment Centers	Moderate	High	Low	High	High
Biographical Data (Biodata) Tests	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Low
Cognitive Ability Tests	High	Moderate	High	Moderate	Low
Emotional Intelligence Tests	Moderate	Moderate	Low	High	Low
Integrity/Honesty Tests	Moderate	Moderate	Low	High	Low
Job Knowledge Tests	High	High	High	High	Low
Personality Tests	Moderate	Moderate	Low	High	Low
Reference Checking	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Low
Situational Judgment Tests	Moderate	High	Moderate	High	Low
Structured Interviews	High	High	Low	Moderate	Moderate
Training and Experience (T & E) Evaluations	Low	Moderate	Low	Low	Low
Work Samples and Simulations	High	High	Low	High	High

Back to Top