# Assessment Design and Validation for Federal Hiring (Self-Paced) Canonical URL: ## Overview This applied course guides participants through the full federal assessment-design process, beginning with competency and job analysis and continuing through assessment strategy, method selection, validation, scoring, and evaluation. Participants will compare single-stage, multiple-hurdle, and compensatory approaches and examine when to use occupational questionnaires, structured interviews, work samples, situational judgment tests, and tools available through USA Hire. The course also addresses validity evidence under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, adverse-impact analysis, subject-matter-expert involvement, and the documentation needed to support an assessment during an audit or challenge. Through exercises and practical examples, participants will learn how to balance legal defensibility, quality of hire, applicant experience, and time-to-hire. ## What you'll learn - Translate a position's duties into the competencies an assessment must measure. - Choose an assessment strategy (single-stage, multiple-hurdle, or compensatory) that fits the position and applicant volume. - Match assessment methods (occupational questionnaires, structured interviews, work samples, situational judgment tests, USA Hire) to the competencies they measure best. - Distinguish content, criterion-related, and construct validity and apply the right evidence strategy. - Apply the Uniform Guidelines and the four-fifths rule to test for adverse impact. - Assemble the documentation that makes an assessment defensible under audit or challenge. - Track quality-of-hire and time-to-hire and decide when to keep, revise, or retire an assessment. ## Curriculum #### Competency and Job Analysis - The role of assessment in federal hiring - Translating position duties into measurable competencies - Identifying critical tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics - Establishing competency importance and proficiency levels - Using subject-matter experts in the job-analysis process - Documenting the relationship between job requirements and assessment content #### Assessment Strategy and Process Design - Defining the purpose and objectives of an assessment - Comparing single-stage, multiple-hurdle, and compensatory strategies - Sequencing assessment stages to balance quality, efficiency, and applicant burden - Selecting cut scores and advancement criteria - Considering applicant volume, resources, and time-to-hire - Aligning the assessment strategy with the hiring process #### The Federal Assessment Toolkit - Occupational questionnaires and the limits of self-report - Structured interviews - Work samples and performance-based exercises - Situational judgment tests - Cognitive, technical, and competency-based assessments - Using USA Hire within a broader assessment strategy - Matching assessment methods to the competencies they measure best #### Validity and Job-Relatedness - The principles of validity, reliability, and job-relatedness - Content validity - Criterion-related validity - Construct validity - Selecting an evidence strategy appropriate to the assessment - Applying the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures - Maintaining documentation that supports assessment validity #### Adverse Impact and Legal Defensibility - Recognizing potential barriers within an assessment process - Applying the four-fifths rule - Interpreting selection-rate and adverse-impact data - Evaluating alternative assessment practices - Balancing validity, consistency, and equal employment opportunity requirements - Preparing assessment documentation for audit or challenge #### Structured Evaluation and Defensible Rating - Developing structured interview questions and assessment exercises - Creating behaviorally anchored rating scales - Defining scoring criteria and acceptable evidence - Training subject-matter experts, interviewers, and raters - Improving inter-rater consistency - Documenting scores and assessment decisions - Recognizing common rating errors and sources of bias #### Evaluating Assessment Effectiveness - Measuring time-to-hire and assessment efficiency - Evaluating quality of hire and post-selection outcomes - Reviewing applicant progression and assessment completion data - Monitoring reliability, validity, and adverse impact over time - Identifying when an assessment should be retained, revised, or retired - Using assessment results to improve future hiring strategies ## Instructors ### Francis Connor — Instructor Frank Connor has been an Instructor with Graduate School USA since 2010. He has presented over 375 courses, including: Pay Setting: General Schedule; Pay Setting: Federal Wage System; Qualifications Analysis; Federal Staffing and Placement; Adjudicating Veterans Preference; and Preparing and Conducting Reduction In Force. Mr. Connor retired from the federal government in April of 2010 following 34 years of service, most recently as the Associate Regional Director for Administration for the National Park Service’s Northeast Region. Mr. Connor had a decade of experience leading human resources programs. He served as the Civilian Personnel Director for the Naval Air Propulsion Center in Trenton, NJ, and the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station in Philadelphia, PA. He was Human Resource Director of the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and Deputy Human Resource Director for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. He also had assignments in human resources and administration at the Detroit Arsenal, Warren, MI; Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, NJ; and the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Labor and Navy in Philadelphia. Frank holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA and a Master of Arts in Management from Central Michigan University. He has done additional graduate study at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He was an NDFL fellow of the University of Washington, Seattle. He completed the Certificate Program of the Administrative and Service Institute of the University of Tennessee. ### Judy Mintze — Instructor Judy Mintze is a retired Federal HR instructor with over 30 years of experience specializing in Federal Human Resource Processing and Personnel Actions (FPPA). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and has dedicated her career to teaching federal HR professionals. Judy is known for creating engaging and inclusive learning environments where participants feel empowered to ask questions and apply federal laws, rules, and regulations to their work. Her expertise spans a wide range of HR topics, including recruitment, pay setting, and personnel action processing. During her tenure as an HR Specialist at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Judy served as a Senior Human Resource Instructor, training newly hired HR staff on complex topics such as developing assessment materials, adjudicating veterans' preferences, and setting pay. She also developed course materials, lesson plans, and examinations, ensuring her students were well-equipped to navigate the complexities of federal HR processes. Judy’s passion for teaching extends beyond the classroom, as she has also conducted federal resume writing workshops and contributed to process improvement projects to streamline hiring practices. ### Christina Pacunas — Instructor Christina Pacunas is an Air Force Veteran and senior-level Human Resources Officer with more than 11 years of experience leading human capital initiatives across diverse environments. She brings proven expertise in talent acquisition, workforce planning, employee development, and organizational change management, with a track record of aligning HR strategies to business objectives that drive performance, strengthen culture, and boost employee engagement. Christina is recognized for building high-performing teams and implementing data-driven HR solutions. She has extensive experience delivering virtual training to federal employees, specializing in the federal recruitment and staffing lifecycle. Her subject matter expertise spans strategic recruitment discussions, hiring flexibilities, job analysis, job announcement development, adjudicating veterans' preference, pay setting, onboarding, calculating service computation dates, coding personnel actions, electronic personnel file management, and process improvement. Her deep knowledge of federal HR is grounded in applying key authorities and resources, including the Guide to Personnel Processing, Guide to Data Standards, Title 5 of the U.S. Code, the Delegated Examining Handbook, Executive Orders, and Office of Personnel Management policies. She held a Delegated Examining Unit (DEU) Certification valid through March 2025 and maintains an active SHRM-CP credential. A former federal employee, Christina has served in key HR roles with the Department of the Army, Department of Veterans Affairs, United States Agency for International Development, Department of Justice, and the Federal Transit Administration. Christina holds a master's degree in Human Services Administration and a bachelor's degree in Human Resources Management. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending quality time with her family. ## Pricing **Tuition:** $1049