The Washington Post just published this article about companies using SAT scores in the hiring process, not just for recent college grads, but also for established members of the workforce. The article explains how one employer uses the information:

Ms. Comparoni said the company uses the test as a standard measure of “the basic building blocks of success,” such as critical thinking, problem-solving skills and quantitative abilities.

As a current job seeker, in my mid-30s, my work experience and accomplishments should be able to stand on their own without the need for a standardized test that I took almost 20 years ago.  I have grown, learned and accomplished so much more than my SAT score since I took it when I was 17. I have been able to demonstrate measurable accomplishments in the workplace that no standardized test would be able to tell you about.

Additionally, some people are better test takers than others, but that is not going to necessarily translate to being a better employee.  I’ve never encountered anything remotely like a test situation in the workplace, even when working under time constraints.  And that’s not even to the point yet about whether standardized testing of any kind has a place in the hiring process.

I’m all for skills based assessments that will tell you if an applicant has certain skills required for the job, such as Excel for administrative positions or a coding test for developers.  However, I question the efficacy of personality-type standardized tests for hiring.  In the last 8 years, I have hire more than 150 employees, and nothing can replace taking the time to really talk to a candidate about their experience and gauge their personality based on how they interact with you.

The SATs fall into the latter category for me, because they do not effectively provide you with enough information about their skills as they are applicable to the job.  The SATs tested my understanding of math and vocabulary when I was 17.  All of that has changed since then.  My vocabulary has continued to grow and improve, while certain math skills have fallen to the wayside.  I don’t use algebra and very little geometry in my job.  I do, however, use statistics and data analysis regularly.  If an employer is going to rely on my math score to tell then my aptitude for math that I would be using in that job, they are going to get a skewed picture of my abilities. They would be much better off presenting me with data to analyze and asking what conclusion I could draw from it.