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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"It matters not whether the city’s decision was correct so long as it was rational.”
Ever wonder why cops yell quit resisting as they beat a person whos not resisting? Or why they shoot people who pose no threat? Maybe the answer is right in front of us.
The Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test is a popular group intelligence test used to assess the aptitude of prospective employees for learning and problem-solving in a range of occupations. Throughout both the U.S. and Canada, many police forces require candidates to take this test as one of the qualifications prior to being hired.
The standard range of scores applied for police officers is a score between 20 and 27. According to ABC News, The average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average. A perfect score on the Wonderlic is a 50.
On March 16, 1996 Robert Jordan from Connecticut, and 500 others underwent a written screening process which included the Wonderlic Test, conducted by the Law Enforcement Council of Southeastern Connecticut, Inc. (LEC), a coalition of fourteen cities and towns, in order to apply for a position as a police officer.
Several months later Jordan learned that the city of New London started interviewing candidates. After not hearing from them, Jordan inquired as to why he was passed over.
Jordan eventually learned from assistant city manager Keith Harrigan that he would not be interviewed because he didnt fit the profile.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/court-police-departments-refuse-hire-smart/#4oo6Lw3qr2fz03tp.99
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Of course, now that they've let that slip, smart people who want to infiltrate the police can specifically work to 'dumb down' their performance on such tests to match the desired outcome, rather than simply attempt to achieve the highest possible score.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Per the linked article, the city's rationale was that candidates scoring over 27 were more likely to change jobs, and it wanted to reduce turnover.
Many other employers, even those not using the Wonderlic, have the same concern. I've heard of people truncating the "Education" section of their résumés to omit advanced degrees. Deliberately dumbing down on the Wonderlic would be riskier because you might accidentally go too low.
Uben
(7,719 posts)....and it obviously offended someone because they left a couple of remarks that were deleted by jury. Don't know who it was, doesn't really matter. I went ahead and deleted the post because there was no intent of offending anyone, just pointing out fact. I guess they didn't believe it.