ABSTRACT
An assessment center is a powerful methodology for evaluating one’s job-related competence and capabilities. Through the implementation of multiple high-fidelity simulations (also referred to as exercises throughout this chapter), an assessment center offers an excellent opportunity to evaluate an applicant’s strengths and weaknesses and to predict the applicant’s potential to succeed in a particular position. The assessment center is an effective procedure because it is based on a standardized method by which applicants are provided an equal opportunity to perform and to be evaluated on the same job-related simulations. The underlying assumption in an assessment center is that potential for success can be predicted by having applicants perform under conditions that simulate the actual job. Well-developed assessment centers have sound psychometric properties (Thornton & Byham, 1982), and any subgroup differences tend to be lower than those found with paper-and-pencil cognitive ability tests (Hoffman & Thornton, 1997). Assessment centers have withstood the test of time and have repeatedly been shown to be valid predictors of future job performance (Bray & Grant, 1966; Gaugler, Rosenthal, Thornton, & Bentson, 1987; Tziner, Ronen, & Hacohen, 1993).
