Opinion ID: 561788
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Examination Results and the Proposed Methods of Selection

Text: 13 The written test was administered on April 1, 1989, and the oral tests were conducted over a three-day period in June 1989. There were 170 candidates who took the examination, of whom 115 were White, 27 were Black, and 28 were Hispanic. Ninety-nine candidates received passing scores. Of the 99 who passed, 78 were White, 8 were Black, and 13 were Hispanic. Thus, approximately 68% of the White candidates passed the examination, while approximately 30% of the Black candidates and 46% of the Hispanic candidates passed. The combined minority candidate passing rate was 38%. The scores of the minority candidates who passed were clustered at the lower end of the range of scores, and the scores of the White candidates who passed were clustered at the high end. This was true whether one viewed the examination as a whole or analyzed separately its written and oral components. Shown graphically, the examination results were as follows: Number 14 Race of Taking Number Percent Highest Candidate Exam Passing Passing Rank -------------------------------------------- White 115 78 68% 119 Black 27 8 30% 20 Hispanic 28 13 46% 22 ---------- 15 As indicated by the above chart, thehighest scoring minority candidate ranked 20th; White candidates received the top 19 scores on the examination. As of August 1989, the City planned to make 19 promotions to the rank of sergeant. Plaintiffs urged the Commission not to make promotions from the list in rank order, in light of the adverse impact that would have on minority candidates. Dr. Outtz, in a letter to the Commission dated August 15, 1989, stated that certain differences in test scores may not be significant, and he too recommended that the Commission not make promotions from the eligibility list in strict rank-ordered fashion. He recommended that the Commission instead make its selections by using banding, a technique that takes a range of scores whose differences are not statistically significant and, within that band range, provides for promotions of candidates on the basis of considerations such as race or ethnicity, gender, work experience, past job dependability, and other factors that the hiring authorities deem pertinent. In recommending banding, Dr. Outtz stated that the tests he had developed cannot be justified as valid for the specific use of strict rank ordering. 16 The five-member Commission initially voted 2-0, with one member absent and two not voting, to use banding. This decision, however, was reversed a few days later by the full Commission, which decided by a 3-2 vote to make promotions in strict rank order. Although the Commission's chairman testified at trial that he would have voted to use banding had he known that rank-order selection would have a disparate impact on minority candidates or would otherwise violate federal equal employment laws, he stated that prior to voting he and the other members of the Commission had not reviewed any analysis of the test results to determine whether rank-order selection would have such an impact. He also admitted that prior to voting he was aware that the Mayor had authorized funding for only 19 positions and that all 19 positions would go to White candidates.