2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

DEVELOPING OPERATIONAL PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTS:
STRATEGIES FOR FORCED-CHOICE AND BIODATA-BASED
MEASURES 44
Rodney A. McCloy, Ph.D., Dan J. Putka, Ph.D., and Chad H. Van Iddekinge, Ph.D.
Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO)
Alexandria, VA, USA
rmccloy@humrro.org
BACKGROUND
Robert N. Kilcullen, Ph.D.
U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
Alexandria, VA, USA
The U.S. Army is undertaking fundamental changes to transform into the Future Force.
The Select21 project concerns future entry-level Soldiers selection, with the goal of ensuring the
Army selects and classifies Soldiers with the knowledge, skills, and attributes (KSAs) needed for
performing the types of tasks envisioned in a transformed Army. The ultimate objectives of the
project are to (a) develop and validate measures of critical attributes needed for successful
execution of Future Force missions and (b) propose use of the measures as a foundation for an
entry-level selection and classification system adapted to the demands of the 21 st century. The
Select21 project focuses on the period of transformation to the Future Force—a transition
envisioned to take approximately 30 years to complete. The time frame of interest extends to
approximately 2025.
The major elements of our approach to this project are (a) future-oriented job analysis,
(b) development of KSA/predictor measures, (c) development of criterion measures, and (d)
concurrent criterion-related validation. The future-oriented job analysis provides the foundation
for development of new tests that could be used for recruit selection or Military Occupational
Specialty (MOS) assignment (i.e., predictors) and development of job performance measures that
will serve as criteria for evaluating the predictors. After field testing the predictor and criterion
instruments, we will evaluate the potential usefulness of the predictors by comparing Soldiers’
scores on the predictor measures to their scores on criterion performance measures in a
concurrent criterion-related validation effort.
44 In D. J. Knapp (Chair), Selecting Soldiers for the Future Force: The Army’s Select21 Project. Symposium
conducted at the 2003 International Military Testing Association (IMTA) Conference, Pensacola, FL. The views,
opinions, and/or findings contained in this paper are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official
U.S. Department of the Army position, policy, or decision.
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003