The Assessment Center: An Examination of the Effects of Assessor Characteristics on Assessor Scores

The effects of nine assessor characteristics on exercise scores in three police and six fire service assessment centers for local governments were investigated. Assessors included those who had and who did not have experience in the job under consideration, and who differed on several other characteristics including: age, race, gender, previous assessment center experience, education, managerial experience, assessor managerial level, and tenure in that position. Age and the rank of the assessor were the only characteristics that had a significant effect on the scores. However, the magnitude of the effect was quite small (less than 2% of the variance was explained by these two factors). The results might be attributed to the process used to select the assessors, the way the centers were conducted, and the type and intensity of assessor training. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.