Within-group norming and other forms of score adjustment in preemployment testing

Various forms of score adjustment have been suggested and used when mean differences by gender, race, or ethnicity are found using preemployment tests. This article examines the rationales for score adjustment and describes and compares different forms of score adjustment, including within-group norming, bonus points, separate cutoffs, and banding. It reviews the legal environment for personnel selection and the circumstances leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. It examines score adjustment in the use of cognitive ability tests, personality inventories, interest inventories, scored biographical data, and physical ability tests and outlines the implications for testing practice of various interpretations of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.