Technical Report - International Military Testing Association

Performance Check Tests
CLAUDE P. BRIDGES
US Army Enlisted Evaluation Center
Background
For some occupational specialties, one way of making significant
inroads into the variance in job proficiency currently unmeasured would
be to measure more directly and effectively proficiencies involving motor
sKills.
In some occupational specialties, physical manipulation skills (nctor
skills or the product5 thereof) are crucial and important determinators
of significant portions of job proficieacy levels. The development of
adaptations of written test techniques uhic!r will adequately measure such
manual skills, ,at least indirectly, msy be possible ultimately in some of
these jobs. The correlation between a man’s knowledge and his use of the
knowledge on the job often tends to be quite high. However, there are
several occupational specialties in which direct measures of such physical
manipulation skills still will be necessary for good coverage of the job.
In spite of the difficulties inherent in the world-wide use of performance
tests, it has been possible, in the US Army Enlisted Hilitary
Oc-:upational Specialties (HOS) in which such skills are most basic to
differences in job profit-ency, to develop performance tests which can
be administered world-wide under standard conditions and the results
evaluated in an acceptably standard manner, However, such tests are quite
expensive to develop, administer, and evaluate--often prohibitively so.
As a result, it is quite important that every effort be made to explore
other possibilities for directly evaluating motor skills and their
physical products and to include such new measurement techniques among
the evaluation instruments.
This paper presents one such technique and the procedure for developing
the required instrument. 0rl;inally I called it a Performance Check List.
However , thie term is already used commonly for a significantly different
type of instrument. In order to emphasize one of its two most important
characteristic5 I now refer to it a5 a “Performance Check Test,” or in
short a “PCT . ” On the basis of extensive experience in this measurement
area, analysis of the pertinent reseqrch literature and logical considerations,
the technique proposed herein can be expected to function effectively
in the occupational specialties for vhich it is most appropriate, i.e. in
the jobs which meet all the specified criteria.
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