Review of Principles of personnel testing

Abstract

Reviews the book, Principles of personnel testing by C. H. Lawshe, Jr. (1948). This book is an elementary treatment of the problems involved in the testing of employees for purposes of selection. The expected phases are covered, namely test construction and validation (Chaps. II, III, IV and XIII), review of previous findings concerning the effectiveness of employment tests (Chaps. V through XII), and establishment of testing programs (principally Chap. XIV). The approach taken by Lawshe will meet the approval of industrial psychologists. The problems dealing with test construction and validation are adequate as far as they go--but they do not go far enough. The chapters concerned with reporting previous findings on the validity of tests will be disappointing to many. In sum, the reviewer's chief criticisms of this book are omissions of fundamental problems and concepts and the elementary nature of the presentation. Those who use the book as a text either in college courses in testing or in similar courses for members of management or labor unions will undoubtedly find it necessary to provide supplementary material and discussion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)