Development and Field Test of Army-Wide Rating Scales and the Rater Orientation and Training Program. Project A: Improving the Selection, Classification, and Utlilization of Army Enlisted Personnel

摘要

The research described in this report was performed under Project A, the U.S. Army's current, large scale manpower and personnel effort for improving the selection, classification, and utilization of Army enlisted personnel. This research sought to develop dimensions of soldier performance for evaluating first term soldiers in any Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). A preliminary conceptual model of soldier effectiveness helped guide development of empirical scales. Behavioral analysis was used to identify and define effectiveness dimensions. The Skill Level I Common Task Soldier's Manual guided development of another set of rating scales in several task areas involving all first-term soldiers. A rater training program was prepared to help peers and supervisors make accurate evaluations using the Army-wide scales. The rating scales and training program was field tested for nine MOS. A total of 904 supervisor and 1,206 peer raters evaluated a total of 1,369 first-term soldiers. Results were encouraging. Raters appeared to understand and comply with instruction, rating distributions were acceptable, and interrater reliabilities were reasonably high. The field tests also provided information that guided refinement of both the rating scales and the rater training program.