Washington State Department of Services for the Blind

Introduction to Washington State Employment Testing*

Why does Washington State use employment testing?

Employment with Washington State is based upon the Merit System. This system was instituted to ensure that people who are hired as state employees are hired because they are well qualified and not merely because they are friends or relatives of politicians or other officials. Thus, it requires all applicants to compete for jobs, and it requires the state to treat all applicants and employees fairly.

Washington State Department of Personnel (DOP) receives many applications for each job opening. In order to determine which applicants are best suited for each job and which candidates should be referred to the agencies for interviews, DOP uses several different testing methods. Most often they use multiple-choice tests, oral tests, or evaluations of the applicants' experience and training (commonly called E&Ts).

In each case, they try to use a test that will efficiently and effectively show who will perform well on the job. Most applicants do better on a test if they believe that the test is a reasonable way to measure their skills. You are likely to score higher on a test if you feel that it gives you a fair chance to show what you can do. State tests are developed using procedures designed to make them fair and to make them accurate measures of your ability to do the job.

Why does the state use different kinds of tests?

People vary in their abilities to perform different jobs. That is why the state has different tests for different jobs. There are tests for accountants, social workers, highway engineers, legal secretaries, fish hatchery managers and hundreds of other jobs.

Who writes the tests?

People who have experience doing the job help the DOP write the tests. These are most often workers who perform the job well, their supervisors, or people who provide training for that job. These job experts and State Test Specialists jointly identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for a person to work well on the particular job. They develop a test to measure these qualities.

How do the employment tests and the minimal qualifications on the job announcement relate to each other?

Some people think that because they meet the minimum qualifications, they should pass the test. The minimum qualifications only determine who will be allowed to apply for the job. Many applicants could do the job, but the test is designed to find out who could do the job best. Research shows that persons who score high on tests are likely to perform well on the job.

What do the scores mean?

DOP uses test scores to rank eligible applicants on their lists or registers. Scores cannot be compared from one test to another. The range of test scores may vary according to the difficulty level of each test. Scores on a new test may be much higher or much lower than the scores of the test it replaces. Scores for a top-level job may run higher than scores on a lower level job in the same occupational field. Passing scores of permanent state employees on a promotional register will usually be referred before the highest score from a non-promotional register.

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