And 22 other candidates, across all races and genders, who finished 200th or worse on the written exam (out of 1,083) are near the top of the hiring list after getting high marks from the three-person oral review panels.
Those 22 account for almost half of the 45 people who earned the top score of “5” on the oral interview.
The oral exam put more black candidates in the police hiring pool, in line with city and Justice Department goals from the settlement of a discrimination lawsuit in 2009.
November’s written exam continued Dayton’s struggles at getting high-scoring black applicants. Only 25 percent of black candidates passed that test based on initial scoring, while 49 percent of white candidates did. The top 45 scores on that exam came from 41 whites, one black, one Hispanic and two others.
When the city switched to the oral exam this year, the top 45 scores (those graded as “5s”) included 32 whites, eight blacks, one Hispanic and four others, diversifying the top of the hiring pool. More than 70 percent of those taking both tests were white.
Dayton police union officials have criticized the interview panel system, questioning its objectivity, but the Justice Department approved the results.
Best system?
The city is moving ahead with background checks (and eventually hiring) for 20 officers based on the more subjective oral exam, although some experts say discarding the written test scores may prevent the city from hiring the best people to patrol its streets.
Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl acknowledged the value of an oral exam, saying much of an officer’s job is verbal. But he also touted a more rounded assessment.
“The more dimensions you test for a candidate, the better likelihood you’re going to select the best candidates,” Biehl said.
Rick Jacobs, professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University and founder of testing firm EB Jacobs, said the city would be better off retaining the written scores, even if it’s secondary to the oral scores.
“You’re missing a piece of the puzzle,” Jacobs said, adding that the written, cognitive tests often reveal who studies hard and comprehends well. “Why not use both (systems)?”
Dayton relied on vendor Fire & Police Selection Inc. for both the written and oral tests. FPSI Vice President Stacy Bell declined comment for this story.
Multiple police exam candidates declined comment, saying they had signed confidentiality agreements concerning the test process.
Still months to go
James Moore, chief examiner for Dayton’s Civil Service Board, said the city is currently doing background checks on those at the top of the hiring eligibility list, and he said the city could easily go through more than the top 100 ranked candidates to get 20 hires by October.
“When we do background checks, neighbor checks, polygraphs, we will have a significant number of people dropping out,” Moore said.
Moore said the oral exam helps determine which testers will become good police officers.
“Some people score well on the written test ... but you get them in a conversation, and they don’t necessarily do that well,” Moore said. “When you talk about what police do, they have to use oral communication skills. They have to talk people out of situations and cajole people to get things done.”
Shelley Spilberg, a psychologist and hiring supervisor in California’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, said there is no perfect test, as some people will score low on a test but still turn out to be fine officers.
She agreed with Jacobs that strong written exam scores can reveal important decision-making skills and writing ability. But she said just as cities can value high test scores in a hiring process, they can also rightly value diversity in their police force.
“There are social issues, and it might be the right thing to do in some situations, to let people who have reading or writing struggles have a shot at the police academy,” Spilberg said. “The guy who scored the best on the test isn’t always the best at the job.”
Spilberg said that might cost the city though, as those who did worse on the written test are more likely to flunk out of the academy, slowing the flow of officers to the street and increasing the city’s training costs.
Test mechanics
Biehl is familiar with testing struggles, saying he took Cincinnati’s assistant chief exam three times before nailing each section and being promoted. He said a key to Dayton’s process was making the test match what Dayton police officers do. Biehl said about a dozen Dayton police employees worked with FPSI on that validation process for the tests.
“It really depends how the tests are designed, who the assessors are, how they’re trained,” Biehl said, noting the possibility for bias in a face-to-face, subjective test. “Are they applying the ranking mechanism appropriately across all candidates?”
The Dayton Daily News review of the 512 oral exam scores showed only 10 where all three assessors gave the candidate a different score, or where one assessor gave a candidate a significantly different score than the others. Moore said the assessors, who were city employees and community volunteers, were trained by FPSI to recognize the concepts, level of detail and demeanor that constituted a 5-point answer versus a 1, 2, 3 or 4.
Still, Jacobs argued that the city could hire better police officers by also considering the written exam scores, because they show important deductive thinking skills.
“You shouldn’t make an either-or decision,” he said. “(Dayton) may get some people who just don’t have the cognitive ability. ... Do you want the 800th person on the (written exam) list to be a police officer, rather than someone who’s almost as gifted interpersonally, and way better cognitively?”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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