EXAM DEVELOPMENT
When organizations engage in the selection process, they use examinations to determine whether potential candidates can perform specific work-related tasks. As such, examinations are often created to test job-related knowledge or skills that are needed to successfully perform the job.
LAUSD
LAUSD is the 2nd-largest school district in the nation. It services thousands of schools and is responsible for over 26,000 employees. Within LAUSD is the personnel commission (PC). The PC's mission is to utilize planning and foresight to provide superb selection and hiring practices to current and potential employees. Additionally, their focus is to align with and meet LAUSD's personnel needs and deliver high-quality service to clients.
THE NEED
I completed my practicum requirement at LAUSD. During my internship, I was assigned to a project involving a class that previously had unsuccessful recruitment iterations. Possible factors that may have contributed to this were an outdated job description. The project called for a job description revision and, subsequently, a new examination that needed to be developed.
BACKGROUND
THE PROCESS
JOB DESCRIPTION
Meet with the hiring manager and those who know the position well (SMEs), then revise the job description.
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COMPETENCY MODELING
Gather competency ratings from SMEs.
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EXAM DEVELOPMENT
Determine specifics of the examination and create exam items.
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PC
MEETING
Present revised job description and exam to the Personnel Commission for approval.
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The job description includes the tasks, duties, functions, and responsibilities of a position.
Exams are developed based on the competencies, job description, and feedback from the SMEs.
The Personnel Commission holds bimonthly meetings, where they review and approve changes to new and existent jobs.
Competencies are the combination of skills and knowledge that, when applied, produce success. They demonstrate excellent performance.
FOREWARNING!
I'm unable to share specifics about the content of the exam due to strict confidentiality, however, I will be speaking about my general process.
01
JOB DESCRIPTION
The catalyst for the project was the previously unsatisfactory applicant pool for the examinations. A contributing factor to the issues with this pool was the job description. Specifically, the title was not drawing the appropriate applicants for the level and scope of the position
The first step of this project involved contacting SMEs and interviewing them for job description revisions. I identified two SMEs for this project and together we worked on adding new KSAs and duties to reflect the current position, and remove those that do not reflect the job.
COMPETENCY MODELING
I created Googleforms surveys to collect SMEs duties and competency ratings. Once I sent the SMEs the Googleforms, I set up interviews with them to discuss their results. I then created a cross-reference matrix for the SMEs to fill out. I used the results from the matrix to create the final list of competencies.
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EXAM DEVELOPMENT
The exam was developed utilizing the job experts' feedback and the competency ratings. A total of eight competencies were selected, and each exam item assessed at least one of the different competencies.
PC MEETING
I presented the final examination to the SMEs and my supervisors for feedback. Once feedback was attained, the exam was submitted to the union and the Personnel Commission for approval and ratification.
04
COMPETENCIES
Project Management
Legal & Regulatory Navigation
Political & Organizational Savvy
Professional & Technical Expertise
REFLECTION
what was my overall experience?
Through this experience, I learned how to develop and manage a project. Prior to this, I conducted my other projects alongside fellow students. However, in this project I was responsible for working independently, apart from supervision. Because of this, I developed my project management and decision making skills.
I also learned how to manage a project while operating within legal and political parameters. Out of all of the projects that I’ve conducted thus far, this was the most difficult due to the restrictive parameters and strict timeline.