From a New York Post (April 19, 2009) article entitled BIG 'F' ON EMT ADVANCEMENT EXAM:

It was a massive medical failure for hundreds of FDNY medics who hoped to get promoted, as a measly 8 out of 721 city Emergency Medical Service workers passed the most recent lieutenant exam.

The 1.1 percent pass rate for the 2008 test is about 38 percentage points lower than the last time the exam was given, in 2004, when 1,044 medics took the test and 409, or 39 percent, passed, The Post has learned.

The FDNY was at a loss to explain how so many medics bombed the test. Entire Article

The issue here is that only 1% of the test takers passed the most recent exam! My initial conclusions are that the test was poorly constructed, the job candidates ill-prepared, or some combination of the two.

There are a number of factors which may account for this. It is even suggested later in the article that one factor may have been poor test taker motivation because the pay for lieutenants can be less than that for paramedics when overtime and meal allowances are considered (which still leads me to question why they would have taken the test in the first place).

Regardless, this only goes to highlight that using a test is a serious matter.  As a result, if an organization decides to use an assessment, it needs to be sure that the test has been well-constructed, fits the requirements for the position, and is used in an appropriate way.

Reid Klion