We believe that it is a good policy not to disclose specific scores to applicants and hiring supervisors and managers for a number of reasons.
First, pre-employment tests are being used to determine if applicants have the basic skills, abilities, and job-related traits required to perform the job. Typically, people making hiring decisions only need to know if an applicant meets the minimum requirements for a job. Once these requirements are met, applicants should be given further consideration for employment based on their work history, responses to interview questions, and other relevant information. Providing specific scores to hiring supervisors and managers may lead to inappropriate emphasis on comparative scores, thereby eliminating certain applicants from further consideration. [Special Note: If hiring supervisors and managers receive training on how to interpret "Assessment Results Profiles," it may be advantageous to provide specific scores to these individuals. Applicants who consistently exceed assessment standards are more likely to be successful on a job than individuals who barely meet these standards.]
Second, raw scores have no meaning without further interpretation. It is not feasible to provide applicants with an explanation of these scores without referring to technical concepts.
Third, although some applicants may want to know their specific scores for development purposes, the assessment devices should not be used as development planning tools when the primary purpose of the assessment is to help supervisors and managers make hiring decisions.
Finally, assessment standards are recommended to meet both business and legal objectives. Disclosing specific scores may interfere with these objectives and may create misunderstandings, disagreements, and disputes regarding assessment procedures.