I__. - International Military Testing Association

PREDICTING PERFORMANCE WITR BIODATA
Morris S. Spier, Ph.D.
Somchai Dhammanungune, Ph.D.
U.S. International University
Herbert George Baker, Ph.D.
Laura E. Swirski
Navy Personnel Research and Development Center
ABSTRACT
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A scored biographical questionnaire was developed and
administered to a sample of Navy Fire Controlmen in two subratings:
radar operations and data processing. The subjects
were subsequently administered an extensive, hands-on test
of technical proficiency. A correlational analysis
identified 15 items that may predict proficiency for the
radar subrating, and 20 items which may predict job
performance for the data processing subrating. Crossvalidation
is needed to confirm the findings.
INTRODUCTION
The notion that past behavior is the best predictor of
future behavior both supports and receives support from the
use of scored autobiographical questionnaires. Biodata has
_ demonstrated its usefulness in predicting a range of factors
employment setting including: (1) career
~~ogr~!~ion; (2) turnover/job tenure;
(3) job satisfaction;
and (4) trainability. The convergence of the findings to
date support the notion that biodata approaches tend to be
excellent predictors of a wide range of employment-related
criteria.
The Armed Services, in cooperation with the Department of
Defense (DOD), are currently engaged in a Joint-Services Job
Performance Measurement (JPM) Project of which the present
research is a subtask. The larger project is investigating
the feasibility of measuring on-the-job performance with an
aim toward using the measures to set military enlistment
standards. As a part of its contribution to the Joint-
Services Project, the Navy (Laabs & Berry, 1987) is
developing performance measures for a number of occupational
specialities (ratings), including that of Fire Controlman
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There are, thus, separate proficiency tests for radar and
data processing personnel. Scoring test is done using a
scoring sheet to grade steps in the process as having been
completed either "correctly" or llincorrectly,'t and to grade
any products produced as a part of the process as either
"acceptable" or nunacceptable." The final score is a tally
of the correct and acceptable actions and products.
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