I85PREP
⌘ K
SHRM-SCP study materials
SHRM-SCP study resources

SHRM-SCP practice questions

One question at a time. Build your SHRM-SCP understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1HR Strategy

A firm's HR strategy is best described as aligned when it does which of the following?

  1. Build workforce capabilities the business strategy requires Correct answer.
  2. Mirror the talent practices of the industry's best performer
  3. Concentrate all HR decision rights at headquarters
  4. Cut HR operating cost below the industry median

Explanation

Alignment means the people systems HR controls-staffing, development, rewards, and performance management-reinforce the specific capabilities the business strategy depends on. Alignment is judged against the firm's own strategy, not against competitors' practices or cost benchmarks.

Question 2HR Strategy

When conducting a SWOT analysis, which element comes from outside the organization?

  1. A threat Correct answer.
  2. A weakness
  3. A core competency
  4. A strength

Explanation

SWOT separates internal capabilities (strengths and weaknesses) from environmental conditions (opportunities and threats). Threats such as new competitors, regulation, or shifting demand originate in the external environment.

Question 3HR Strategy

A new employment law requiring paid parental leave takes effect next year. In a PESTLE analysis, this development belongs in which category?

  1. Political
  2. Legal Correct answer.
  3. Technological
  4. Economic

Explanation

PESTLE sorts environmental forces into political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental categories. Statutory and regulatory obligations such as leave mandates fall under the legal factor.

Question 4HR Strategy

In the balanced scorecard, spending on employee training and skills development is tracked under which perspective?

  1. Learning and growth Correct answer.
  2. Financial
  3. Internal business process
  4. Customer

Explanation

The learning and growth perspective captures the human capital, information capital, and organizational climate that enable the other perspectives. Training and development measures sit there rather than under financial or process measures.

Question 5HR Strategy

Why can human capital serve as a source of sustained competitive advantage?

  1. Workforce skills are hard for rivals to copy Correct answer.
  2. It can be purchased quickly in the open labor market
  3. It depreciates predictably, like physical plant
  4. It is the largest line item in most operating budgets

Explanation

Human capital produces durable advantage when the skills and routines are tacit, socially complex, and embedded in the firm's systems, which makes imitation costly and slow. Size of budget, ease of purchase, and depreciation patterns do not create inimitability.

Question 6HR Strategy

In Porter's five forces model, a supplier group gains bargaining power when which condition holds?

  1. Buyers could readily integrate backward
  2. Its inputs are unique and switching costs are high Correct answer.
  3. Many substitute suppliers serve the same buyers
  4. Buyers purchase in very large volumes

Explanation

Supplier power rises when the input is differentiated, few alternatives exist, and changing suppliers is costly for the buyer. Volume concentration, ready substitutes, and credible backward integration all shift power toward buyers.

Question 7HR Strategy

In Kotter's eight-step model for leading change, what is the first step?

  1. Anchor changes in the culture
  2. Generate short-term wins
  3. Form a powerful coalition
  4. Create a sense of urgency Correct answer.

Explanation

Kotter's sequence starts by establishing urgency so that stakeholders see the status quo as untenable. Coalition building, short-term wins, and cultural anchoring come later in the sequence.

Question 8HR Strategy

Strategic workforce planning is primarily intended to do which of the following?

  1. Administer performance reviews on a consistent schedule
  2. Reduce the ratio of HR staff to employees
  3. Match talent supply and demand to future business needs Correct answer.
  4. Fill open requisitions more quickly and at lower cost

Explanation

Strategic workforce planning projects the number, mix, and location of capabilities the business will need and compares that with anticipated supply. Recruiting speed, staffing ratios, and review administration are operational activities that may follow from the plan but are not its purpose.

Question 9HR Strategy

A retailer's proprietary training academy produces results competitors have tried and failed to replicate, and the firm's structure and incentives reward use of the skills learned there. Under the VRIO framework, this resource is best classified as producing which outcome?

  1. Competitive parity
  2. Sustained competitive advantage Correct answer.
  3. Unused competitive potential
  4. Temporary competitive advantage

Explanation

VRIO asks whether a resource is valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and supported by the organization. This resource meets all four tests, so the advantage is expected to persist.

Question 10HR Strategy

In the Ulrich model, which HR role is responsible for aligning HR practices with business strategy?

  1. Strategic partner Correct answer.
  2. Employee champion
  3. Change agent
  4. Administrative expert

Explanation

The strategic partner role works with line leaders to translate business strategy into workforce implications and HR priorities. The other roles focus on process efficiency, employee voice and welfare, and transformation capability.

Question 11HR Strategy

During merger due diligence, which human capital issue most often destroys deal value after closing?

  1. Insufficient board seats for acquirer directors
  2. Clashing cultures and leadership styles Correct answer.
  3. Differences in fiscal-year end dates
  4. Inadequate physical office space

Explanation

Culture clash and leadership conflict drive voluntary exits of key talent and slow integration, which erodes the synergies the deal depended on. Governance seats, reporting calendars, and facilities are addressable logistics.

Question 12HR Strategy

The main purpose of scenario planning is to do which of the following?

  1. Remove uncertainty from the planning cycle
  2. Justify the current plan to investors
  3. Prepare leaders for several plausible futures Correct answer.
  4. Forecast the single most likely future

Explanation

Scenario planning builds a set of internally consistent alternative futures so leaders can rehearse decisions and identify robust moves. It does not predict a single outcome or eliminate uncertainty.

Question 13HR Strategy

Which measure best indicates whether a talent development program is producing strategic value?

  1. Participants' retention and performance versus a comparison group Correct answer.
  2. Participant satisfaction ratings collected after each training session
  3. Total hours of training delivered per employee
  4. Number of employees who attended the program

Explanation

Strategic value is shown by outcomes compared with a credible baseline, which is why a comparison group design matters. Activity counts and reaction surveys describe delivery, not results.

Question 14HR Strategy

The primary rationale for moving transactional HR work into a shared service center is to do which of the following?

  1. Place a dedicated HR generalist in every business unit
  2. Shift all HR decision rights to line managers
  3. Give each business unit its own HR technology stack
  4. Achieve scale economies and free HR for strategic work Correct answer.

Explanation

Consolidating repetitive transactions standardizes process and spreads fixed cost across the enterprise, which frees business partners to focus on strategic work. The model concentrates, rather than distributes, transactional expertise.

Question 15HR Strategy

A sound succession plan for a critical executive role requires that the organization do which of the following?

  1. Limit the candidate pool to the incumbent's direct reports
  2. Keep the plan confidential from the board
  3. Build a pipeline of ready-now and ready-later candidates Correct answer.
  4. Name the successor five years in advance

Explanation

Effective succession management maintains a ranked pipeline with development plans for candidates at different readiness levels, which protects against a single-point failure. Premature naming and narrow pools undermine the process.

Question 16HR Strategy

Which pair of measures best links HR activity to business outcomes?

  1. Revenue per employee and high-performer turnover Correct answer.
  2. Number of applications received and average time to fill
  3. Headcount and HR staff-to-employee ratio
  4. Training hours delivered and days of absence

Explanation

Outcome measures such as productivity per employee and the retention of critical talent connect the workforce to financial and capability results. Staffing ratios, applicant volume, and activity counts describe HR operations rather than value created.

Question 17HR Strategy

A multinational pursuing a multidomestic strategy is most likely to do which of the following?

  1. Apply a single global compensation system everywhere
  2. Adapt practices to local labor markets and law Correct answer.
  3. Standardize talent processes across all countries
  4. Centralize all hiring decisions at headquarters

Explanation

A multidomestic strategy competes country by country, so HR decentralizes and tailors practices to local regulation, talent pools, and customer expectations. Global standardization fits a global or transnational efficiency strategy instead.

Question 18HR Strategy

Which factor most strongly supports outsourcing a discrete HR process?

  1. It differentiates the firm's employment brand in key markets
  2. It involves sensitive executive succession and pay data
  3. It is rules-based, non-strategic, and cheaper for a vendor to run Correct answer.
  4. It requires deep knowledge of the firm's unique culture

Explanation

Outsourcing works best for standardized, transactional processes where a vendor's scale and specialization lower cost without strategic loss. Processes tied to differentiation, sensitive data, or firm-specific culture are usually kept in-house.

Question 19HR Strategy

From a stakeholder perspective, an HR strategy that cuts employee benefits to boost short-term earnings is most likely to do which of the following?

  1. Improve the employer brand with job seekers
  2. Raise shareholder value with no offsetting risk
  3. Have no measurable effect on productivity
  4. Erode trust and raise long-run attrition risk Correct answer.

Explanation

Stakeholder theory holds that ignoring the legitimate claims of a key group produces offsetting costs over time. Cutting benefits damages the psychological contract, which shows up in engagement, turnover, and recruiting difficulty.

Question 20HR Strategy

Which HR practice best supports an agile operating model built on cross-functional teams?

  1. Cascade annual individual goals from the top
  2. Fund teams, not positions, and rotate talent across projects Correct answer.
  3. Route all promotions through a single functional ladder
  4. Publish detailed job descriptions with narrow duties

Explanation

Agile models need fluid deployment of skills, so funding follows teams and work rather than fixed slots, and people move to where value is being created. Narrow jobs, single ladders, and rigid annual goal cascades lock talent in place.

Question 21HR Strategy

In an acquisition whose stated synergies depend mainly on cost reduction, the HR leader's most valuable early contribution is to do which of the following?

  1. Harmonize pay and benefits in the first thirty days after close
  2. Test the people-related synergy and cost assumptions before signing Correct answer.
  3. Announce the full leadership structure at the time of signing
  4. Wait until close to begin retention talks with key talent

Explanation

Synergy assumptions are frequently overstated because they omit severance, retention, and integration costs, so HR should stress-test those numbers during diligence while deal terms can still change. Retention, pay harmonization, and structure decisions require sequencing after the assumptions are validated.

Question 22HR Strategy

A firm competing on cost leadership should design its HR system to emphasize which of the following?

  1. Efficient, high-volume processes and tight cost control Correct answer.
  2. Tolerance for risk and broad employee discretion
  3. Heavy investment in unallocated breakthrough innovation time
  4. Customized career paths for every employee

Explanation

Cost leadership rewards scale efficiency, standardized work, and close control of labor cost, so HR systems should reinforce those behaviors. Discretion, open-ended innovation time, and bespoke career deals raise cost and variability.

Question 23HR Strategy

Which situation poses the greatest strategic human capital risk to a specialized engineering firm?

  1. Average tenure exceeds the industry benchmark
  2. Training spend per engineer is below the industry median
  3. Applicant pools for junior roles are larger than openings
  4. Key design knowledge sits with a few senior engineers Correct answer.

Explanation

Concentration of tacit, undocumented knowledge in a small group creates a single point of failure that no recruiting pipeline can cover quickly. Tenure, applicant supply, and training spend matter, but none carries the same strategic exposure.

Question 24HR Strategy

A firm needs scarce data-science skills for a two-year transformation but expects modest long-term internal demand. The most appropriate talent approach is to do which of the following?

  1. Launch a multiyear internal academy for all analysts
  2. Redeploy existing analysts without added investment
  3. Acquire a data-science firm outright
  4. Borrow talent via contracts and build a small internal core Correct answer.

Explanation

Talent segmentation matches the sourcing mode to the duration and criticality of the need. A time-bound, non-core requirement fits borrowing, with a small internal core to retain capability, while building and buying are better reserved for enduring critical needs.

Question 25HR Strategy

An organization espouses teamwork but pays individual sales commissions that reward working alone. The most likely consequence is which of the following?

  1. The pay system loses credibility with top performers
  2. Teamwork strengthens because the values are visible
  3. Culture is unaffected because pay is not a cultural artifact
  4. Employees discount the stated values and follow the pay system Correct answer.

Explanation

When espoused values conflict with the incentives that determine pay and advancement, employees follow the incentives and the stated values lose credibility. Culture is transmitted through such reinforcing systems, not through pronouncements alone.

Question 26Talent Acquisition

In workforce planning, a "build versus buy" decision refers to which choice?

  1. Choosing between leasing recruiting technology and purchasing it outright
  2. Developing talent internally versus acquiring it externally Correct answer.
  3. Deciding whether to use an agency or an in-house recruiter
  4. Deciding whether to extend an offer now or wait for a stronger applicant

Explanation

Build-versus-buy is the core make-or-buy choice in workforce planning: the organization either develops the capabilities it needs through training, stretch assignments, and succession pipelines, or it acquires them through external hiring or contracting. The decision follows from a gap analysis between the capabilities required by strategy and those available internally.

Question 27Talent Acquisition

Which document states the minimum education, experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities a candidate must possess to perform a job?

  1. Job specification Correct answer.
  2. Job evaluation
  3. Job rotation
  4. Job description

Explanation

The job specification is derived from the job analysis and translates the job's requirements into candidate requirements such as education, experience, certifications, and KSAOs. The job description, by contrast, describes duties, responsibilities, and reporting relationships.

Question 28Talent Acquisition

What is the primary purpose of using a structured interview guide with behaviorally anchored rating scales?

  1. To increase inter-rater reliability and reduce evaluation bias Correct answer.
  2. To eliminate the need for reference and background checks
  3. To let each interviewer freely explore the candidate's unique background and experience
  4. To shorten the total time required to complete the interview loop

Explanation

Anchored rating scales give every interviewer the same behavioral benchmarks, so judgments converge on a common standard rather than on individual impressions. This standardization raises inter-rater reliability and limits the influence of idiosyncratic bias, which is why structured interviews show higher predictive validity than unstructured ones.

Question 29Talent Acquisition

Which term describes the extent to which scores on a selection instrument predict later job performance?

  1. Fairness
  2. Reliability
  3. Utility
  4. Criterion-related validity Correct answer.

Explanation

Criterion-related validity is established by demonstrating a statistical relationship between predictor scores and a measure of job performance, such as supervisor ratings or output. Reliability concerns consistency of measurement, and utility concerns the practical value of the instrument.

Question 30Talent Acquisition

What is the term for the bundle of pay, benefits, development, culture, and purpose that an employer offers in exchange for employee performance and commitment?

  1. Employee value proposition Correct answer.
  2. Offer package
  3. Recruitment marketing funnel
  4. Total rewards statement

Explanation

The employee value proposition is the holistic exchange an employer communicates to attract and retain talent, combining compensation, benefits, career growth, culture, and purpose into a single brand promise. It is broader than a compensation document and is the anchor of employer-brand messaging.

Question 31Talent Acquisition

A selection system produces a selection rate of 35% for one protected group and 60% for the group with the highest rate. Under the four-fifths rule in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, what conclusion is supported?

  1. No conclusion, because adverse impact can only be shown by a validation study
  2. Adverse impact, because the selection-rate ratio exceeds 0.50
  3. Adverse impact, because the selection-rate ratio is below 0.80 Correct answer.
  4. No adverse impact, because each group had candidates selected from the pool

Explanation

The four-fifths rule compares each group's selection rate to the highest group's rate; 35 divided by 60 equals roughly 0.58, which is below the 0.80 threshold and therefore indicates adverse impact. The employer would then need to show that the procedure is job related and consistent with business necessity.

Question 32Talent Acquisition

A recruiter received 400 applications, interviewed 80 candidates, and hired 20. What is the interview-to-hire yield ratio?

  1. 25% Correct answer.
  2. 20%
  3. 5%
  4. 80%

Explanation

Yield ratios express how many candidates advance from one stage to the next; here 20 hires divided by 80 interviews equals 25%. Yield ratios let recruiters forecast how much top-of-funnel activity is needed to produce a given number of hires.

Question 33Talent Acquisition

Which metric measures the elapsed time from requisition approval to candidate acceptance of an offer?

  1. Cost per hire
  2. Offer acceptance rate
  3. Time to fill Correct answer.
  4. Vacancy rate

Explanation

Time to fill captures the full recruiting cycle from the point a requisition is opened or approved to the point an offer is accepted. It is a speed-and-efficiency measure, distinct from quality or cost measures.

Question 34Talent Acquisition

What is the best-documented benefit of giving candidates a realistic job preview during selection?

  1. Higher applicant volume and greater employer-brand visibility
  2. Shorter average time to fill open requisitions
  3. Lower early turnover and more accurate expectations Correct answer.
  4. Higher likelihood that candidates accept the initial salary offer

Explanation

A realistic job preview presents both attractive and unattractive aspects of the role, which calibrates expectations and reduces the shock that drives early voluntary turnover. It may reduce applicant volume because some candidates self-select out, which is the intended trade-off.

Question 35Talent Acquisition

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, what must an employer do before taking adverse action based on a third-party background report?

  1. Retain the report for a minimum of seven years before disclosing it to the candidate
  2. Notify the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 30 days of the decision
  3. Provide the candidate with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, and allow time to dispute Correct answer.
  4. Obtain a fresh signed authorization from the candidate specifically for the adverse action

Explanation

The FCRA's pre-adverse-action process requires that the candidate receive a copy of the consumer report and a summary of FCRA rights, plus a reasonable opportunity to dispute the accuracy of the information. Only after that step may the employer send an adverse action notice.

Question 36Talent Acquisition

A behavioral interviewing question is best designed to accomplish which of the following?

  1. Test the candidate's technical knowledge of industry regulations
  2. Elicit past behavior in a comparable situation as a predictor of future behavior Correct answer.
  3. Gauge the candidate's motivation for wanting the role
  4. Present a hypothetical problem and score the quality of the proposed solution

Explanation

Behavioral interviewing rests on the premise that past behavior in similar circumstances is the best available predictor of future behavior, so questions ask for concrete examples from the candidate's history. Hypothetical questions and knowledge quizzes are different interview designs with different validity evidence.

Question 37Talent Acquisition

Which action is an employer's strongest defense against a claim of negligent hiring?

  1. Conducting pre-employment screening proportionate to the risk of the job Correct answer.
  2. Requiring all candidates to sign binding arbitration agreements as a condition of hire
  3. Using a single trained interviewer for every candidate in a given role
  4. Extending the probationary period for new hires to a full year

Explanation

Negligent hiring liability turns on whether the employer exercised reasonable care in selecting someone whose conduct could foreseeably harm others. Reasonable care is shown by pre-employment screening calibrated to the risks and duties of the specific position.

Question 38Talent Acquisition

Which sourcing channel is generally associated with the highest quality of hire but the smallest candidate volume?

  1. Job boards
  2. Career fairs
  3. Social media advertising
  4. Employee referrals Correct answer.

Explanation

Referrals draw from employees' professional networks, which yields a small pool but candidates who are pre-screened by reputation and better matched to the culture. High-volume channels such as job boards and advertising reach many candidates with widely varying fit.

Question 39Talent Acquisition

Which practice is most strongly associated with improved new-hire retention in the first 90 days?

  1. A structured onboarding program with a defined 30/60/90-day plan and an assigned buddy Correct answer.
  2. Assigning full independent performance targets during the first week
  3. Deferring all administrative paperwork until the first pay cycle
  4. An unstructured orientation that relies on the new hire reading the handbook independently

Explanation

Structured onboarding that sequences learning goals across the first three months, combined with a peer resource, accelerates time to productivity and reduces early voluntary turnover. Social integration and clear early expectations are the mechanisms most consistently linked to retention.

Question 40Talent Acquisition

Cost per hire is calculated by dividing total recruiting costs by which figure?

  1. Total organizational revenue
  2. The number of open requisitions
  3. Total applications received
  4. The number of hires Correct answer.

Explanation

Cost per hire aggregates internal and external recruiting expenses and divides by the number of hires made in the same period, producing a per-hire efficiency figure. Using applications or requisitions as the denominator answers a different question about sourcing cost or requisition load.

Question 41Talent Acquisition

What is the primary reason to use a panel interview in a selection process?

  1. To shorten the total number of interview rounds required to reach a decision
  2. To conduct compensation negotiations with the full hiring team present
  3. To assess technical skills through a hands-on work sample
  4. To gather multiple perspectives and reduce individual interviewer bias Correct answer.

Explanation

A panel allows several assessors to observe the same responses and calibrate against shared criteria, which tempers single-interviewer idiosyncrasy and improves the reliability of judgments. It also creates a common record for later comparison of candidates.

Question 42Talent Acquisition

Which practice most directly supports internal mobility?

  1. Limiting internal movement to lateral transfers within the same function
  2. Requiring chief executive approval for every internal transfer
  3. Posting roles internally and giving eligible employees priority consideration Correct answer.
  4. Freezing external recruiting until every employee has been offered a transfer

Explanation

Internal job posting with priority consideration creates a transparent, accessible path for employees to move into new roles, which reinforces retention and reduces external hiring cost. Mobility works best when eligibility rules are clear and manager release is time-bound.

Question 43Talent Acquisition

What is the purpose of a utility analysis of a selection system?

  1. Verify that an assessment measures a single underlying construct
  2. Compare candidates' scores against a norm group's distribution
  3. Estimate the dollar value of the performance gains produced by a selection procedure Correct answer.
  4. Determine whether a selection procedure produces adverse impact against any protected group in the applicant pool

Explanation

Utility analysis converts validity, selection ratio, variability in performance, and the value of performance into an estimated financial return from using a given selection procedure. It answers whether a more valid but costlier tool is worth the investment.

Question 44Talent Acquisition

An employer hires only candidates scoring above the 75th percentile on an aptitude test, and the validity coefficient observed in that hired group is much lower than the coefficient found in the full applicant pool. What phenomenon explains this?

  1. Range restriction Correct answer.
  2. Differential prediction
  3. Criterion contamination
  4. Measurement error

Explanation

Restricting the predictor to a narrow high-scoring band attenuates the observed correlation with performance, because the variance needed to detect a relationship is removed. Validity coefficients should be corrected for range restriction when selection is highly selective.

Question 45Talent Acquisition

An employer uses an artificial-intelligence tool to screen résumés. Which practice best mitigates legal and ethical risk?

  1. Relying on the vendor's proprietary validation studies without conducting an independent review
  2. Auditing the tool for adverse impact by protected group and validating it for the local job context Correct answer.
  3. Applying the tool only to non-exempt roles to limit the scope of exposure
  4. Keeping the screening logic confidential so applicants cannot game the algorithm

Explanation

Selection tools, including algorithmic ones, must be job related and consistent with business necessity, so the employer needs local evidence of validity and monitoring for disparate impact. Vendor claims of overall validation do not discharge the employer's obligation for its own jobs and applicant pool.

Question 46Talent Acquisition

A preferred candidate's salary expectation exceeds the approved range. What is the most appropriate recruiter response?

  1. Promise a salary adjustment at six months that has not been approved by compensation
  2. Offer the top of the range immediately without further discussion
  3. Explain the range constraints and discuss total rewards and growth opportunities Correct answer.
  4. Withdraw the offer promptly to protect internal pay equity

Explanation

Transparency about the range plus a full presentation of total rewards preserves trust and internal equity while testing whether the candidate's decision is driven by base pay alone. Unauthorized commitments create legal and equity problems that surface later.

Question 47Talent Acquisition

Which metric best indicates whether job postings and the careers site are attracting qualified applicants?

  1. Qualified applicants generated per posting Correct answer.
  2. Time to fill
  3. Offer acceptance rate
  4. Cost per hire

Explanation

Qualified applicants per posting (or per source) measures sourcing yield, showing whether the channel is producing candidates who meet the minimum requirements. The other measures address spend efficiency, closing effectiveness, and speed.

Question 48Talent Acquisition

Which first step is most effective for broadening a diverse candidate slate?

  1. Lowering the minimum qualifications for the role to widen the applicant pool
  2. Adding a diversity statement to the job posting
  3. Mandating that every hiring panel include diverse interviewers
  4. Reviewing job criteria for barriers and expanding sourcing to diverse networks Correct answer.

Explanation

Slate diversity improves most when unnecessary requirements such as arbitrary degree or years-of-experience thresholds are removed and sourcing is deliberately extended into underrepresented professional networks. Structural changes to criteria and sourcing reach more than messaging alone.

Question 49Talent Acquisition

Which factor most strongly supports classifying a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee?

  1. The firm sets the worker's daily schedule and provides the tools used for the work
  2. The worker receives the same benefits and reimbursement policies as employees
  3. The worker is listed in the firm's organizational chart and attends staff meetings
  4. The worker controls how the work is done and bears the risk of profit or loss Correct answer.

Explanation

Behavioral control, financial control, and the relationship between the parties drive classification analysis; a worker who decides how and when to perform the work and can realize a profit or loss looks like a separate business. Scheduling control, integration, and benefit parity point toward employee status.

Question 50Talent Acquisition

Under the Cleary regression model, a test produces identical regression lines for predicting performance in two groups but the group mean scores differ. What does this indicate?

  1. The instrument is unfair because scores diverge by group
  2. The instrument must be withdrawn because group means differ
  3. The instrument demonstrates criterion contamination
  4. The instrument is not biased in prediction Correct answer.

Explanation

Under the Cleary model, bias exists when regression slopes or intercepts differ across groups; if the lines coincide, the test over- or under-predicts equally for everyone and is not biased in prediction. Mean differences alone address disparate impact, a separate legal question from prediction bias.