Personnel testing à la mode: A conceptual framework for the role of the administration medium in the assessment process

Administration "mode" is a broad term that has been used to refer to the medium to deliver personnel tests, test/item formatting options and conventions, format response options, and characteristics of the test administration context and setting. This paper introduces a new conceptual framework that defines the testing process used in personnel selection and assessment as a communication exchange. Particular emphasis is placed on the medium that used to carry the test exchanged between a test administrator, broadly defined, and a test taker. Four attributes of the test administration medium (social bandwidth, interactivity, surveillance, and transparency) are described. By distinguishing the attributes of the medium from other elements of the assessment process, this framework may help researchers define, anticipate, and explain "cross-mode" equivalence. Also, HRM researchers who apply this framework may be able to provide specific suggestions as to how to effectively choose, design, and adapt personnel test administration media with key HRM concerns, goals, and outcomes such as reliability of measurement, construct and criterion validity, and test-taker reactions in mind.