Development & Validation of The OPAC System

The OPAC System is distributed by OPAC Testing Software, and was developed by the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), formerly Professional Secretaries International.

IAAP is the leading association and certifying body for administrative professionals, with over 40,000 members worldwide. The OPAC System is based on a two-year, nationwide study that determined relevant skill testing areas, according to leading business educators, managers, and administrative professionals.

OPAC Testing Software is a division of Biddle & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm with over 25 years of experience in the Equal Employment Opportunity and job selection fields. In order to validate the tests that comprise The OPAC System, Biddle & Associates conducted a comprehensive validation study at a large federal employer. Over 300 job incumbents representing 24 secretarial/clerical classifications were evaluated. Four automated skills tests, including The OPAC System, were included in the study. The OPAC System was the only test to show criterion-related validity in all dimensions evaluated (Typing Speed/Accuracy, Word Processing Level I skills and Word Processing Level II skills). The OPAC System also demonstrated substantial content validity to the jobs sampled.

This study shows that The OPAC System has tremendous value as a "final" exam in educational courses, and as a hiring or promotional test. The study demonstrated that The OPAC System tests are related to successful job performance in a wide variety of administrative and clerical job classifications.

The OPAC System also contains a Validation Wizard, which allows you to conduct your own automated, basic content validation studies for individual OPAC tests, for particular job titles within your work environment.

OPAC Testing Software, 2100 Northrop Ave., Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95825-3937. Tel: 916-563-6219; Fax: 916-563-7557.