The selection of air traffic control specialists: Two studies demonstrating methods to insure an accurate validity coefficient for selection devices.

Studies of poststrike air traffic control specialist trainees: I. Age, biographic factors, and selection test performance related to academy training success.

“…Other research has indicated that military instrument flight rules (IFR) air traffic control (ATC) experience is predictive of higher success rates in FAA ATCS training while visual flight rules (VFR) ATC and pilot experience are not (1,2). Since that research was conducted, the FAA has implemented (i) the age rule, (ii) selection based on aptitude tests for all entrants, and (iii) a rigorous nonradar control aptitude screening phase that must be passed soon after entry into the FAA.…”

“…In a previous study (2), prestrike trainees' responses to a biographical questionnaire (BQ) were used to identify several factors which were significantly related to performance in the screening program. Among these factors were age, prior ATC experience, high school math grades, overall high school grades, the number of times the applicant took the ATC aptitude test, and self-ratings of future performance.…”

“…(iii) Since the strike, the biographic composition of the population applying for positions as ATCS's has changed; e.g., two-thirds of the poststrike applicants have no prior experience in aviation.A The most important biographic predictor of minority pass/fail status was age, wit" ysical science high school grades second; for nonminorities, the most important iredictors of pass/fail status were the math high school grades and age, in that or r. The several sets of findings have relevance both to selection and to recruitment \practices for ATCS's. Previous research on the relationship between age at entry into the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control specialist (ATCS) occupation and performance in training and on the job has led to the conclusion that both retention rates and rated job performance decrease dramatically as age increases (1,2).…”

The selection of air traffic control specialists: I. History and review of contributions by the Civil Aeromedical Institute

“…These ratings were very easy to obtain, and they appeared to possess satisfactory reliability (estimated to be 0.84) (10). Previous research (3,46) had also shown that instructor ratings of this general sort were of substantial predictive value with regard to the on-the-job performance of ATCSs. En addition, 40 instructors were tested on the MTPB and then asked to complete a seven-item questionnaire designed to elicit their opinions as to the relation of the MTP3 as an index of trainee potential (it).…”