Assessment Centers—valid or Merely Prescient1

Published validation studies of assessment centers are reviewed with respect to criteria used, staff composition, and the number of organizations involved. Impressive, consistent results are noted, but a trend is identified: Acceptance of the method is based on relatively few studies, conducted by fewer organizations, using a limited range of criteria. It is argued that perhaps the assessment center staff is evaluating candidates based on its familiarity with the preferences of the decision makers who will actually promote, thus merely duplicating already existing decision procedures. What is needed are comparative predictive studies incorporating alternative predictors and criteria.