Restore general ability testing for federal hiring
What the document says“A government that is unable to select employees based on KSA-like test qualifications cannot work, and the OPM must move forward on this very basic personnel management obligation.”
The chapter recounts the end of the Professional and Administrative Career Examination under a 1981 consent decree and says courts have agreed to review that decree if the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures are reformed. It states that OPM must move forward on selecting employees by knowledge, skills and abilities testing. It separately says the disparate impact doctrine could be ended legislatively or narrowed through the regulatory process.
What the document actually says“A government that is unable to select employees based on KSA-like test qualifications cannot work, and the OPM must move forward on this very basic personnel management obligation.”
A government that cannot pick workers by testing what they know and can do will not work. OPM must get moving on this basic job.
The government used to give a test to people who wanted jobs. A court case ended that test in 1981. The book says the government cannot work well if it cannot test people. It says OPM must find a way to test them again.
Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service
2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8621
Addresses merit hiring and candidate assessment, which is the subject of the chapter's proposal. The chapter's specific ask was that OPM restore testing on knowledge, skills and abilities against the 1981 consent decree and the Uniform Guidelines; whether the hiring plan does that is not established by the order alone.