[thelist] Good "tests" for prospective employees?

[Ed McCarroll]

Samantha,

> I'd like to test their css skills, and just make sure they have
> experience working with site on a real-world (rather than a
> textbook) basis.

$.02 opinion from a former school teacher (read "test designer"):

It's easy to design a test that checks to see if an applicant has
textbook knowledge, e.g. knows the keywords and syntax.  OTOH, it's
very difficult to test for real-world experience/judgment.

Tests that ask applicants to regurgitate minute factoids have a
built-in bias: they prefer people with good memory over people with
more important skills.  Short-answer questions that begin with "why"
do a better job of showing a persons ability to reason, but are a
lot harder to grade.

For CSS, you might go with questions aimed at finding out if the
applicant knows which hacks work best within which browsers.  That's
a subject I've heard a lot about, but know little, because I've done
very little CSS.

In any case, I'd love to hear how this works out.  Can I take the test
without applying for the job?  ;-)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Ed McCarroll                                            (310) 838-4330
Ed at ComSimplicity.com                      http://www.ComSimplicity.com