Demographic change turns recruiting talent into a challenge. The selection process – which often involves online tests – plays a critical role in recruiting the most talented applicants. For gaining their acceptance, it is important that it is perceived as fair by test takers.

Cleary (1968) assumes that a test is fair if people with the same test score show approximately the same performance. However, performance on ability tests is not only a function of ability, but also of other factors, like test takers’ own perception of their performance (Tonidandel, Qiñones & Adams, 2002).

This perception can be influenced by feedback given on examples. N = 100 participants in our study received positive, negative, or neutral feedback on their performance in the example section preceding the test. Participants with positive feedback performed better, participants with negative feedback performed worse on the test than the other two groups and were more likely to abandon it. Thus, feedback on examples seems to have a significant impact on test performance, an important finding as modern technology allows for instant feedback during the example section and test. Therefore, it is a matter of test fairness to deliver appropriate and identical feedback to all participants.

Session Target Audience: Education, Employment, Professional & Licensure

Themes addressed: Innovations in Assessment, Operational Best Practices, Meeting the Challenges of Testing in Europe, Leveraging Assessment to Realise Talent