Deattribution
02-26-2006, 06:54 PM
Police test ruled biased because of disparity in pass rates
By DUANE BOURNE, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 15, 2006
VIRGINIA BEACH — The proof is in the numbers.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that a math test given to Virginia Beach police recruits discriminates against blacks and Hispanics.
That prompted a barrage of critics to ask: How can a math test be biased?
The answer is not elementary arithmetic. It depends on who took the test.
The math portion of the National Police Officer Selection Test, given to Virginia Beach police recruits, was called discriminatory because the pass rate for blacks and Hispanics was less than 80 percent of the pass rate for whites.
The so-called “80 percent rule” is a rule of thumb that has been used by the federal government for years to evaluate possible discrimination cases.
A legal expert at the Justice Department said the finding is based on the legal theory of disparate impact – the idea that any hiring process can be challenged if it has a disproportionate effect on a particular group.
When there is a disparity among the groups of people who pass an entrance exam, for example, the Justice Department wants to know why.
“We are not saying that Virginia Beach is being intentionally racist,” said Eric Holland, a spokesman at the Justice Department’s civil rights division.
Between 2002 and mid-2005, 59 percent of black police applicants and 66 percent of Hispanic applicants passed the math exam, compared with 85 percent of white applicants. To meet the “80 percent rule,” a minority group would have to have a 68 percent pass rate.
Based on those numbers, the Justice Department concluded that “Virginia Beach is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics on the bases of their race and national origin with respect to entry-level police officer positions,” according to a letter sent last week by the Justice Department to Virginia Beach.
The Virginian-Pilot could not determine how often such a finding is issued by the Justice Department.
From 2001 to 2004, the Justice Department initiated 63 investigations similar to the one in Virginia Beach. It is not known how many of those investigations resulted in letters like the one that Virginia Beach received.
The Justice Department has been investigating possible discrimination in the hiring of Chesapeake police and fire employees since 2004. The results have not yet been released.
J.H. Verkerke, director of the Program for Employment and Labor Law Studies at the University of Virginia, said the debate is rooted in concerns that hidden discrimination hinders efforts to diversify the work force.
While the Justice Department investigation was pending, in early 2005, the Virginia Beach Police Department asked two members of the local NAACP branch to review the police entrance exam. Beach Police Chief A.M. “Jake” Jacocks Jr. said those members determined that the test assessed basic skills and was not culturally biased.
U nder federal law, that is not enough. The city must justify why it requires the math exam for new police officers and how it relates to their prospective job duties.
“The question,” Verkerke said, “is whether the test is an unnecessary barrier in initial hiring.”
Stanard & Associates Inc., the Chicago firm that created the national exam, has tested whether the exam questions are related to police work, said Steve Allscheid, company president. The same test is used by at least three other Hampton Roads police departments, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the past, the Justice Department has sued to change entrance exams it considered discriminatory.
In 2003, the federal government charged that the multiple-choice reading comprehension and writing test offered by the Delaware Department of Public Safety was biased because blacks passed at a statistically lower rate than white applicants.
The case went to trial in U.S. District Court.
Delaware argued the test was lawful because “it was job-related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.” The state said reading comprehension was important in a trooper’s ability to write investigative reports and interpret motor vehicle regulations.
A federal judge concluded that while the test was a reliable screening tool, the passing score was set too high. As a result, the passing grade was lowered.
Often, the defendants in these kinds of cases choose to use another selection criterion , rather than risk a long and costly legal battle with the federal government.
For years, Virginia Beach has pledged to attract a more diverse applicant pool, but that initiative could be part of the solution and part of the problem, Verkerke said.
Such aggressive recruiting could encourage academically weak job candidates to apply, and when those applicants fail the entrance exam, that can widen the disparity in pass-fail rates between whites, blacks and Hispanics, he said.
Because many blacks and Hispanic applicants are reared in lower-income households, those groups might not have access to the same quality of educations as white applicants, Verkerke said.
Virginia Beach officials will schedule a meeting soon with the Justice Department, but no date has been set. Jacocks said the city’s response will not be determined until both sides meet.
Long winded article - but I don't understand this ruling. It's essentially dumbing something down so other less qualified police officers of all things, can get jobs....
Apparently it's a normal thing, and I think I've heard of it happening in education levels but never in a job situation before.... am I the only one who finds this a little crazy?
By DUANE BOURNE, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 15, 2006
VIRGINIA BEACH — The proof is in the numbers.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that a math test given to Virginia Beach police recruits discriminates against blacks and Hispanics.
That prompted a barrage of critics to ask: How can a math test be biased?
The answer is not elementary arithmetic. It depends on who took the test.
The math portion of the National Police Officer Selection Test, given to Virginia Beach police recruits, was called discriminatory because the pass rate for blacks and Hispanics was less than 80 percent of the pass rate for whites.
The so-called “80 percent rule” is a rule of thumb that has been used by the federal government for years to evaluate possible discrimination cases.
A legal expert at the Justice Department said the finding is based on the legal theory of disparate impact – the idea that any hiring process can be challenged if it has a disproportionate effect on a particular group.
When there is a disparity among the groups of people who pass an entrance exam, for example, the Justice Department wants to know why.
“We are not saying that Virginia Beach is being intentionally racist,” said Eric Holland, a spokesman at the Justice Department’s civil rights division.
Between 2002 and mid-2005, 59 percent of black police applicants and 66 percent of Hispanic applicants passed the math exam, compared with 85 percent of white applicants. To meet the “80 percent rule,” a minority group would have to have a 68 percent pass rate.
Based on those numbers, the Justice Department concluded that “Virginia Beach is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics on the bases of their race and national origin with respect to entry-level police officer positions,” according to a letter sent last week by the Justice Department to Virginia Beach.
The Virginian-Pilot could not determine how often such a finding is issued by the Justice Department.
From 2001 to 2004, the Justice Department initiated 63 investigations similar to the one in Virginia Beach. It is not known how many of those investigations resulted in letters like the one that Virginia Beach received.
The Justice Department has been investigating possible discrimination in the hiring of Chesapeake police and fire employees since 2004. The results have not yet been released.
J.H. Verkerke, director of the Program for Employment and Labor Law Studies at the University of Virginia, said the debate is rooted in concerns that hidden discrimination hinders efforts to diversify the work force.
While the Justice Department investigation was pending, in early 2005, the Virginia Beach Police Department asked two members of the local NAACP branch to review the police entrance exam. Beach Police Chief A.M. “Jake” Jacocks Jr. said those members determined that the test assessed basic skills and was not culturally biased.
U nder federal law, that is not enough. The city must justify why it requires the math exam for new police officers and how it relates to their prospective job duties.
“The question,” Verkerke said, “is whether the test is an unnecessary barrier in initial hiring.”
Stanard & Associates Inc., the Chicago firm that created the national exam, has tested whether the exam questions are related to police work, said Steve Allscheid, company president. The same test is used by at least three other Hampton Roads police departments, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the past, the Justice Department has sued to change entrance exams it considered discriminatory.
In 2003, the federal government charged that the multiple-choice reading comprehension and writing test offered by the Delaware Department of Public Safety was biased because blacks passed at a statistically lower rate than white applicants.
The case went to trial in U.S. District Court.
Delaware argued the test was lawful because “it was job-related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.” The state said reading comprehension was important in a trooper’s ability to write investigative reports and interpret motor vehicle regulations.
A federal judge concluded that while the test was a reliable screening tool, the passing score was set too high. As a result, the passing grade was lowered.
Often, the defendants in these kinds of cases choose to use another selection criterion , rather than risk a long and costly legal battle with the federal government.
For years, Virginia Beach has pledged to attract a more diverse applicant pool, but that initiative could be part of the solution and part of the problem, Verkerke said.
Such aggressive recruiting could encourage academically weak job candidates to apply, and when those applicants fail the entrance exam, that can widen the disparity in pass-fail rates between whites, blacks and Hispanics, he said.
Because many blacks and Hispanic applicants are reared in lower-income households, those groups might not have access to the same quality of educations as white applicants, Verkerke said.
Virginia Beach officials will schedule a meeting soon with the Justice Department, but no date has been set. Jacocks said the city’s response will not be determined until both sides meet.
Long winded article - but I don't understand this ruling. It's essentially dumbing something down so other less qualified police officers of all things, can get jobs....
Apparently it's a normal thing, and I think I've heard of it happening in education levels but never in a job situation before.... am I the only one who finds this a little crazy?