FAQs

What is eTest®?

eTest® is a validated pre-employment screening tool. Consisting of a vocabulary test, a reasoning skills assessment, and a personality inventory, the eTest® assessment battery measures common-sense traits linked to job behavior.

How long does the test take?

The eTest® standard battery usually takes 45-60 minutes to complete.

What results will I get?

The results are in the format of an Interview Guide which provides a narrative section, suggested questions to ask in further interviews, and scales that measure the "Big 5" personality factors as well as 16 subfactors. The scales compare the candidate's profile against a norm for people in the designated job type (i.e., administrative, customer service, managerial, sales, technical, or a general business population).

How do I get results?

All results will be sent to the email address you provide when you register as a client. No results are sent directly to the candidate.

How long does it take to get the test results?

You will typically receive the test results within minutes after your candidate has completed the assessment.

What do I do if a candidate asks me for results of his/her test?

If you wish to provide the candidate with results, select both the Interview Guide and the Development Guide in the report type field when setting up the test. You can pass the Development Guide on to the candidate at your discretion (during the interview, upon hire, during a review, etc.). The Interview Guide is written for the hiring manager, not for the candidate. Therefore, we do not recommend that you share the Interview Guide.

Can I test candidates remotely?

The beauty of online testing is that you can test candidates located anywhere in the world. However, the downside is that you may not know who in fact completed the assessment and whether or not the candidate received help (especially on the cognitive portion). Therefore, if you use the service as a remote tool and cannot administer the standard battery in a proctored environment, we strongly advise you to ignore any references to vocabulary, verbal aptitude or deductive reasoning.

The eTest® Client Portal provides an easy way to set up remote user access, sending the candidate an email with a custom link so that they can complete the eTest® at their location and leisure.

How much does it cost?

We charge a per-assessment fee for the eTest® standard battery. Most clients prefer this arrangement because it offers the greatest flexibility. However, some clients, especially those who make use of customized reports and higher volume, prefer a bulk pricing structure. The standard rate is $150 per assessment. The Leadership Report, Sales Report, and Coaching Report are $25 each as optional add-on reports that can be generated from the standard battery. There are no set-up fees to establish an account. Our standard practice is to bill clients at the end of each month.

How do I sign up?

Click on the "Register" button and complete the form on the next page. Within one business day you will receive an email with your client code and password, allowing you to begin using eTest services immediately.

Why should we use testing?

Tests constructed and validated according to scientific, legal and ethical guidelines used as part of a pre-employment system will help you get the right people in the right jobs, reduce turnover, lower your cost of search, and gain a higher level of performance and organizational effectiveness. In short, they will help your bottom line.

How should we choose a test or test services provider?

Some applications can be addressed by standard, off-the-shelf products. In this case, look for instruments that have been developed by qualified professionals according to the ethical, legal and professional guidelines of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the applicable legal and governmental agencies (e.g., the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Any test you choose needs to be validated for your use. If you have enough people in a specific job category, it should be validated in your environment and should be monitored for fairness and legality.

Many organizations prefer to use a battery of instruments customized to their particular jobs and environments. This requires a job analysis and validation conducted by competent professionals and consequent modification of existing tests to develop job-specific scales and/or the development of a new assessment measure from scratch. Some jobs lend themselves to the development of a realistic work sample, which is incorporated into the assessment system.

How do I know if a test is valid?

Validity is a term in wide use and subject to wide misunderstanding. Any off-the-shelf test should have a technical or user's manual providing evidence for various types of validity (see below) and any custom-designed battery should include a technical report addressing the question of validity. The types of validity are briefly described below, but anyone with a deeper interest in this area should check out the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing published by the American Psychological Association (APA). The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) of APA has a wide range of references and resources pertaining to the ethical, legal and professional standards of testing.

  • Reliability. Although you may hear the terms reliability and validity used interchangeably, reliability is in fact separate from, but related to, validity. The reliability of a test tells you how likely is it that the test will give the same results over time.
  • Predictive Validity. This is the gold standard of criterion-related validation. It tells you how well the test or screening system holds up in the real world, how it predicts performance. It's also the most difficult measure to obtain because the best way to do a predictive study is to give the test to everyone who enters the job, then correlate their results with actual job performance at some appropriate later time. Most companies aren't willing to undertake such an effort based on the faith that there will be appropriate results down the road. They want to use the results to make selection decisions immediately.
  • Concurrent Validity. A second form of criterion-related validation shows the relationships of test scores to on-the-job performance. It involves administering the test to a representative sample of current employees, correlating the relationship between test scores and performance, developing the relevant prediction equation, then administering the test to another representative sample of employees and finding out how well the equation predicted performance in that group. If there is a significant correlation, then the test can comfortably be incorporated into the selection system.
  • Content Validity. This form of validity addresses how well the test actually covers the content of the job. For instance, a spreadsheet problem would have high content validity in a battery used to select financial analysts. A preference for driving a race car versus riding in a bus (as measured by a personality or interest inventory) may have high predictive validity in that job, but it would not have much content validity

Is the eTest® standard battery a valid predictor of job performance?

Yes. We have gathered performance data since 1993, have documented validity evidence and have developed empirical scales to predict performance in a wide range of jobs and companies. Contact us for technical information.

What does the standard eTest® battery measure?

The eTest® standard battery measures candidate competencies in both the personality and cognitive domains. Not only does it provide an accurate assessment of the candidate on a wide range of job-related dimensions, it also provides a behavioral interview guide tailored to the candidate's results for the hiring manager. It can be an important part of the core for an effective, fair and valid selection system that can improve your success rate.

The personality component of the eTest® battery is the Business Check List (BCL) authored by Drs. Haygood and Golson. It measures the Big Five factors of Extraversion, Emotional Reactivity, Behavioral Control, Agreeableness and Complexity. In addition, it has many sub-scales, some of which were developed empirically from job performance measures and are predictive of such factors as dependability, organizing habits and stress tolerance, among others. The empirical scales also show similarities between the candidate and people in, e.g., sales, management, customer service and technical jobs in terms of his/her self-perceptions. The personality and empirical scales enable you to develop richer and deeper insights to predict how well the candidate will fit into the job under consideration and into your organizational culture.

Cognitive aptitude has been shown to be one of the best predictors of performance, especially in more complex jobs. This has been consistently demonstrated by academic studies and reinforced by our own research over the years. The cognitive portion of the standard eTest® battery consists of an English language vocabulary test and a measure of deductive reasoning. Both of these aptitudes are highly correlated with longer measures of general cognitive ability.

What types of jobs does the eTest® standard battery screen for?

Although we can offer industry-specific information in many cases and although the battery can be customized in a variety of ways to meet your unique needs, the standard battery is appropriate for use in all industry segments. It was developed according to scientific, ethical and legal principles and measures specific characteristics proven to be indicative of success in a broad range of jobs. We have developed specific scales related to administrative, customer service, managerial, sales, technical and leadership positions. Our psychologists are available to help you interpret the eTest® results in light of your specific job needs and to help you develop predictive scales unique to your company.

How is the eTest® standard battery different from other personality tests?

The Business Check List (BCL) is the result of testing and interviewing over 14,000 business people over a 10-year period. Our statistical models, based on a massive amount of real-world performance data in conjunction with accepted psychological theories, have helped it become one of the most effective personality assessments used for business applications.

In addition to the BCL, which was designed specifically for use in business, the standard battery includes the cognitive measures of deductive reasoning and English language vocabulary. Together with the wide spectrum of data available from the personality measure, these instruments combine to provide an exceptionally accurate picture of candidates, and consequently help you make better employment decisions. We have gathered performance data for years, and have developed empirical scales to predict performance in a wide range of areas.

Can the eTest® standard battery be customized?

If a customized profile would better meet your needs, email us and we will have one of our licensed psychologists contact you to find out more about your unique needs. Custom studies and scales are developed by Management Psychology Group, a professional consultancy headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Personality testing as a part of a validated selection system is legal. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is concerned with pre-employment systems (tests, simulations, interviews, etc.) that discriminate against legally protected groups such as minorities, women, and forty-and-older candidates. A properly designed assessment should be fair and job-focused, providing quality assessments regardless of the applicant's race, color, religion, gender, national origin or age. Personality testing usually has less adverse impact than any other selection technique.

However, do your homework and cover yourself. Always ask for statistical validation documentation on an assessment instrument before using it as an employment selection tool. Validate it in your own environment and monitor it over time for adverse impact.

What other types of tests are available?

There are a wide variety of other instruments available through Management Psychology Group. Contact us for more information.

Does eTest do skills testing?

Our specialty is psychology. We can provide information about the factors which enable people to develop skills, but we do not test or develop tests for specific skills.

Questions still unanswered? Email us and we'll find the answer.