The Impact and Validity of PACE: A Federal Employment Examination

A study of PACE (Professional and Administrative Career Examination) showed that 99 percent of the black applicants and 84 percent of the white applicants who took the test were screened out of competition because they did not score 90 or better on the test. According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the test has been validated and research shows a clear relationship between performance on the test and subsequent performance on the job. GAO attempted to determine whether PACE had an adverse impact on minorities and whether the test has been properly validated. GAO concluded that the OPM validation work generally conformed to professional standards, but there were some shortcomings. For example, OPM cannot determine whether adverse impact exists in PACE occupations because it has not maintained records to show the race or ethnic group membership of applicants. PACE is now used for 118 occupations, but detailed job analyses have been performed for only 17 occupations. A complete job analysis for the remaining 91 occupations covered by the test should be performed. It is recommended that OPM design a procedure to track the job performance of groups of people selected from civil service registers and those selected using alternative "ports of entry."