Consensual Beliefs about the Fairness and Accuracy of Selection Methods at University

This study investigated student's perception of the accuracy and fairness of 17 different assessment methods to measure 8 different traits/characteristics thought to be desirable in a student. Results for accuracy and fairness judgments were similar with drug, general knowledge and intelligence tests being thought of a least accurate and fair while panel interviews and references were thought of as among the fairest selection methods. Factor analyses of the accuracy data showed that two underlying components existed labelled test and face-to-face methods. There was considerable consensus among the 322 respondents. The only individual difference variable which was shown to explain any variance in accuracy perceptions was self-assessed intelligence. The possible explanations for these findings, as well as study limitations and suggested directions for future research are discussed.