Court Opinion

ID: 9702580
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 23:17:49.941408+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:39.188795
License: Public Domain

STEIN, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
In attempting to arrive at a proper balance between the interest of civil-service test takers in obtaining review of their test grades and that of the Department of Personnel (DOP) in safeguarding the confidentiality of test questions, the Court concludes that the Appellate Division erred in holding that as a matter of procedural fairness all persons challenging their test scores must be provided with copies of the questions, their answers, and the grading standards. I do not disagree with that aspect of the Court’s opinion.
However, in my view the Court overshoots the mark and tips the balance too far toward the interests of confidentiality when it precludes disclosure of relevant test materials to the reviewing court, as well as to the applicant, unless the applicant makes a prima facie showing that the test results are arbitrary. That holding creates a prototypical Catch-22 for a test taker seeking to challenge his or her test results: the bare-bones access to testing materials that the DOP customarily makes available is an insuffi*268cient basis on which to make even a prima facie showing of arbitrariness, and absent such a showing neither the test taker nor the reviewing court will receive sufficient access to the test materials to be able to evaluate whether the test was graded arbitrarily.
The Court can and should strike a fairer balance. It could do so by requiring the DOP to furnish the reviewing court, in camera, with the test questions, the examinee’s answers, the correct answers, and a sufficient explanation of the grading standards to enable the reviewing court to make a preliminary assessment of arbitrariness and determine whether further disclosure to the examinee, an evidentiary hearing or other relief may be appropriate.
The Court implies that the Appellate Division conceived that its responsibility over the test grade was plenary, ante at 258, 693 A.2d at 473, but a fair reading of that court’s opinion demonstrates that it intended its review to be properly deferential to the DOP, seeking only to determine whether the grading was arbitrary. “[0]ur review function does require us, after we have accorded the utmost deference to the Department of Personnel and to its technical expertise, to judge whether there is a reasonable basis for its determinations.” 289 N.J.Super. 557, 563-64, 674 A.2d 616 (1996). With the truncated materials provided, the Appellate Division could not perform its review function. The Court’s disposition of this appeal should assure that reviewing courts are not unduly impeded from performing the review that is mandated by statute.
I
The pertinent facts are summarized adequately in the Court’s opinion. I highlight certain facts to emphasize the difficulty encountered by the Appellate Division in attempting to provide even the most cursory review of respondent Brady’s written examination grade.
*269As noted by the Court, the examination for police captain consisted of an oral and written examination, each component using a grading system of one (lowest) to five (highest). Brady received the highest possible grade on five of the six characteristics, or dimensions, tested on the oral examination. His oral scores were: analytic ability (4); judgment (5); decisiveness (5); leadership ability (5); community sensitivity (5); oral-communication skills (5).
The written examination graded the applicants on the same dimensions as the oral examination, with the obvious exception of oral-communication skills, and on four additional dimensions. Brady’s scores on the written examination were not outstanding, and his grades on the very same dimensions tested in the oral component were significantly lower. His written examination grades were: analysis (2); judgment (3); decisiveness (4); leadership ability (2); community sensitivity (3); ability to delegate (3); planning and organizational ability (3); management capability (2); written-communication skills (3).
The written portion of the examination required the candidate to assume the role of a Captain on the police force of the hypothetical Township of Grandview. The testing materials included essential factual information about the Township, the police force, and its personnel. Each examinee was required to respond in writing to ten hypothetical situations, and the examinees were evaluated on the basis of the various dimensions set forth above. In grading the examinations, graders were provided with a list of “possible courses of action” (“PCAs”) that had been compiled by a panel of senior-command personnel from various police departments. The list of PCAs was used by each grader to ascertain the minimum level of acceptable responses related to each dimension. When an examinee’s response omitted reference to a PCA on the master list, that omission was noted as a deficiency or missed opportunity, and the aggregate number of such deficiencies was the basis for the numerical grade awarded on each dimension tested.
*270Brady, dissatisfied with his score on the written portion of the examination, exercised his statutory right of appeal. N.J.S.A. 11A:4-1 e. Pursuant to the DOP’s published review policy, Brady was afforded only limited access to the test materials for the purpose of preparing his appeal. He was permitted to examine his answers to each question, and a brief summary of each question, but not the question itself. He was not allowed to examine the PCAs, on which his grades were based. He was permitted to review his grades on each dimension, a brief description of his performance on each dimension, the general instructions for the written examination, and a summary sheet describing how his score was computed. Brady was allotted one hour to review those materials, allowed to take notes, but not allowed to remove or photocopy any of the materials that he examined.
As noted by the Appellate Division, 289 N.J.Super. at 559, 674 A.2d 616, Sergeant Brady initially appealed to the DOP’s Supervisor of the Selection Appeals Unit, communicating by letter dated September 15, 1993, the reasons why he believed the grader’s scoring on each of the dimensions was too low. The response, dated May 31,1994, noted generally that “significant opportunities to demonstrate behaviors associated with specific dimensions were missed,” that those “behaviors” were based on the PCAs compiled by experts, that an item-by-item review was unwarranted, and that a review of Brady’s responses in comparison with the PCAs demonstrated that his scores were accurate.
In accordance with a statement in the Supervisor’s letter that any appeal to the Merit System Board could not be based on new or additional proofs or argument, Brady appealed to the Merit System Board and apparently relied only on his initial letter to the Selection Appeals Unit. The Merit System Board affirmed.
Brady then appealed to the Appellate Division, and the record before that court was sparse. Brady’s submission consisted of his Notice of Appeal, his letter to the Selection Appeals Unit, the Supervisor’s response, and a copy of the DOP’s one-page “Examination Review Policy for the Police Promotional Assessment Pro*271cess, Fall 1992,” which essentially described the limited review rights of a candidate seeking to appeal his or her examination score. The Merit System Board’s submission consisted of an eleven-page orientation guide, containing background information about the Captain/Lieutenant examination, four pages of background facts relating to the Township of Grandview and its police department on which the written examination was based, and Brady’s one-page score sheet for both the written and oral examinations, together with a comment sheet containing cryptic comments about each of the graded dimensions.
Conspicuously absent from the record furnished to the Appellate Division were the examination questions, Sergeant Brady’s answers, the PCAs to which his answers were compared for grading, and any explanation of the grading methodology sufficient to assure the Appellate Division that the grading was fair, impartial, and free from arbitrariness. As the Appellate Division observed, “[T]he Department of Personnel must provide a sufficient explanation for its grading decisions to enable a reviewing court, which is obligated to give due deference to the authority, responsibility and expertise of the agency, to determine whether the agency’s decisions have a reasonable basis.” 289 N.J.Super. at 565-66.
II
The standard by which courts exercise their obligation to review challenges to civil-service test results is not a matter in dispute. The majority opinion correctly observes that courts generally are obliged to recognize the broad regulatory authority of the DOP and to defer to the agency’s grading of an examination absent a showing of arbitrariness. Ante at 257-258, 693 A.2d at 472-473. As this Court stated in Zicherman v. Department of Civil Service, 40 N.J. 347, 351, 192 A.2d 566 (1963), “the courts cannot intervene to nullify a civil-service examination unless it is clearly shown that the Department has abused its discretion.” In Zicherman, in which the plaintiff challenged the appropriateness of a civil-service *272promotional examination for the position of Clerk of the District Court, this Court reviewed the examination questions and the correct answers. Although observing that the “correct” answers to two questions appeared to be erroneous and that the relevancy of a few questions was debatable, the Court nevertheless upheld the validity of the examination. Id. at 352, 192 A.2d 566.
A similarly deferential standard of review is reflected in other reported decisions involving challenges to results of civil-service examinations. See, e.g., Rox v. Department of Civil Serv., 141 N.J.Super. 463, 467-69, 358 A.2d 819 (App.Div.1976) (acknowledging deferential standard of review, but invalidating as too subjective oral testing format for police captains and lieutenants, noting that one of the seven grading teams awarded consistently lower scores to examinees than did the other six grading teams); Brotspies v. Department of Civil Serv., 66 N.J.Super. 492, 494-99, 169 A.2d 484 (App.Div.1961) (acknowledging that intervention to nullify civil-service examination is warranted only where examination is corrupt, arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable, and concluding that questions were fair and appropriate, and that answers were neither unreasonable nor implausible, following hearing at which single judge reviewed objections to questions and to Department’s version of correct answers); Artaserse v. Department of Civil Serv., 37 N.J.Super. 98, 102-05, 117 A.2d 22 (App.Div. 1955) (holding that plaintiffs had failed to prove civil-service examination for police lieutenant was arbitrarily administered or graded where department, after consultation with plaintiffs counsel, eliminated six of nine challenged questions and regraded all papers, but plaintiffs nevertheless failed to attain minimum requisite score).
The experience of other courts confronted with the responsibility of reviewing challenges to civil-service examinations but hampered in discharging that duty by insufficient information concerning the test confirms the wisdom of mandating in camera submission to the reviewing court of all pertinent material. Like the majority, ante at 264, 693 A.2d at 476, I impute no prece*273dential authority to unpublished decisions, see R. 1:36-3, but the factual context of the two unreported opinions referred to by the majority is illustrative of the need to provide adequate information to a reviewing court. In Dellaventura v. Department of Personnel, No. A-3957-91T1 (App.Div. Mar. 11, 1993), the plaintiff appealed the Merit System Board’s decision upholding his failing grade on the written portion of a promotional examination for Fire Lieutenant. Plaintiffs initial score was thirty-one and the passing grade was thirty-five. Only examinees who passed the written test were eligible to take an oral examination.
After reviewing his test papers, plaintiff appealed his score, relying on his memory of the questions and answers in preparing his appeal. The initial review process resulted in no change in his score. A second-level review raised his score by one point. The Merit System Board then found other errors in the grading of his examination, recalculated his score, and changed the final score to thirty-four, one point below a passing grade. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the Merit System Board’s evaluation of his answers and also challenged the Board’s scoring methodology.
The Appellate Division rejected the challenge to the correctness of his answers but remanded for further proceedings that would generate fact findings and conclusions concerning the scoring methodology. Acknowledging the highly deferential standard of review that it was applying, the court nevertheless observed that “we cannot tell on the record that presently exists whether the method of scoring appellant’s test results was or was not arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable.”
An analogous issue was presented in In re Setkiewicz, No. A-2123-94T2 (App.Div. Nov. 27, 1995), in which plaintiff, a Hoboken Fire Captain, took the promotional test for Deputy Fire Chief along with several other candidates. Based on the examination, the DOP’s promotional list placed plaintiff fourth, and a candidate named Blohm second. Blohm was promoted to Deputy Chief in October 1992. Approximately two years later the DOP decided plaintiffs appeal of his test score, and awarded him sufficient *274additional points to place him second on the list and drop Blohm to fourth. Subsequently, Blohm revived his own appeal, which had been dismissed after his promotion, and that appeal resulted in an increase in Blohm’s score again sufficient to rank him higher than plaintiff.
Plaintiff then sought access to Blohm’s test file, including his answers and the scoring key, arguing that without such access he could not possibly challenge the rescoring of Blohm’s exam. Relying on its regulations and the need for confidentiality, the DOP denied access. The Appellate Division reversed, concluding that the regulations permitted the DOP to exercise discretion in resolving the access issue, but that under the unique circumstances presented the denial of access to Blohm’s file precluded plaintiff from obtaining adequate review. The court permitted the DOP to impose appropriate conditions on access to assure confidentiality.
Ill
This appeal does not directly present the Court with the question of the validity of the DOP’s regulation limiting an appealing examinee’s access to test materials. That regulation, N.J.AC. 4A:4-6.4(e), provides in part: “In order to maintain the security of the examination process, the Commissioner may, on a particular examination, modify or eliminate the review of examination questions and answers.” Exercising that regulatory discretion based on considerations of examination security and confidentiality, the DOP has decided to preclude Brady’s access to the actual questions, the PCAs, and the scoring guide. This record is entirely inadequate for a court to make a competent determination about the reasonableness of the DOP’s discretionary decision.
Nevertheless, the Court not only defers to the DOP’s undocumented need for confidentiality in upholding the denial to examinees of access to test records, but also inhibits the statutorily mandated function of reviewing courts by denying them access to test records absent a preliminary showing of arbitrariness. The DOP’s interest in the confidentiality of its examinations surely *275would not be compromised if the reviewing court were permitted to conduct an in camera review of all pertinent test materials, not for the purpose of second-guessing the DOP’s grading, but merely to verify that the test of the examinees seeking review was not administered or graded arbitrarily.
I would modify the Appellate Division’s judgment to require that, in addition to those materials to which the examinee is given access by the DOP, the DOP must provide the reviewing court with the full text of the test questions, the examinee’s answers, the “correct” answers, and a sufficient explanation of the grading process to enable the reviewing court to determine preliminarily whether the administration and grading of the test were conducted arbitrarily, and whether further proceedings are necessary to resolve the examinee’s appeal.
For reversal — Chief Justice PORITZ and Justices HANDLER, POLLOCK, O’HERN, GARIBALDI and COLEMAN — 6.
Concur in part; dissent in part — Justice STEIN — 1.