Exploring options for supporting test use in situations precluding local validation

This paper examines some of the options available to practitioners interest ed in supporting the use of selection measures in an organization, includin g test transportability, validity generalization (VG), and synthetic valida tion, reviewing some of the advantages, disadvantages and requirements of e ach approach. Results of four unpublished, proprietary validation studies a re reported which compare validity estimates provided by the job component validation (JCV; a type of synthetic validation) routine inherent in the Po sition Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) with observed validity coefficients for a variety of criterion measures. We then examine the accuracy of the JCV p rocedure in predicting validity coefficients for 51 clerical classification s extracted from an existing PAQ job evaluation database of a large utility company. Predicted JCVs are compared to mean observed validity coefficient s for five DOT clerical categories provided by Pearlman, Schmidt, and Hunte r (1980). The VG and JCV methods provided highly similar and converging est imates of the validity of cognitive ability tests for predicting performanc e in clerical occupations. Implications for practice are discussed, particu larly the need to use multiple, converging lines of evidence to support tes t use.