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Numbers Don't Lie, But People Do: Validity in Personnel Selection
A tech company's cognitive screening test shows disparate impact. The numbers are clear. The story behind them isn't. You've been hired to find the truth.
Duration
75 min
Difficulty
Advanced
Stakeholders
3
Company Size
Medium (100-500)
Organizational Background
Apex Technologies has been using a third-party cognitive assessment as the primary screening tool for software engineering candidates for three years. A recently hired I/O psychologist flagged that the selection rates for Black and Hispanic candidates are significantly lower than for white candidates, triggering an adverse impact concern under the 4/5ths rule. The vendor claims the assessment is 'validated,' but you've been handed a thin technical manual with correlational data from a single study conducted on a non-representative sample. The Head of Talent Acquisition is dismissive of the concern, the Legal team is quietly alarmed, and the vendor is stonewalling requests for additional data.
Key Stakeholders
Learning Objectives
- Apply the 4/5ths rule to calculate and interpret adverse impact
- Evaluate the technical adequacy of a vendor validation study
- Distinguish criterion validity, content validity, and construct validity
- Navigate organizational pressure when data has legal and ethical implications
- Recommend corrective action that balances legal risk and operational continuity
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