Pre-employment tests, while not used extensively in State College, are fast becoming a part of industry that many graduates will face, several experts say.

Pre-employment examinations, like background screening tests, are usually given as part of the consideration for employment, said Senior Vice President Carl Stanton Klump, creator of the North Carolina based Stanton Corp. which makes pre-employment tests.

Klump developed a written honesty test designed to alert employers to potential employees who may be habitually dishonest. Catching that dishonesty is important in preventing internal theft, he said.

People taking the test are asked questions about their past and provide whatever explanations are necessary, Klump said, explaining that the tests are made up of concepts to expose dishonesty. The tests ask questions which may predict a person's honesty level.

For example, Klump said, a dishonest person is inclined to be lenient toward someone who has gotten caught in a crime. One question on the test asks applicants to decide the perpetrator's fate. Dishonest applicants may call for a light punishment, while honest candidates may answer for a harsh one, Klump explained.

Another question asks: "Do you think a person who steals something his family needs is a common criminal?" A dishonest person may say no, because the family needs the stolen goods, Klump said.

"But it never occurs to the dishonest person that he can get a job and work for it," he said. "The answer there is to steal it and then be lenient with the person because the family needs it.

"It all boils down to a genuine psychological principle that the best predictor of the future is the past," Klump said.

But Jack Rayman, director of the Career Development and Placement Services, does not agree.

"We don't allow companies to do (pre-employment tests) on campus," Rayman said. "The key problem is validity and reliability." Though the tests do decrease theft, a simple interview might rule out a dishonest person, he said.

Written tests, Rayman said, only possess the capacity to measure what is said. If honest applicants answer in the wrong way, they may not be considered for a particular job, he explained.

Another problem Rayman cited is consistency. Rayman said he doubts whether a potential employee will score the same every time he takes these tests.

Because the career counseling department is accountable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Rayman said, the test would have to be proven clear of cultural biases because of equal opportunity and affirmative action programs.

Klump said losses attributed to company theft range from 43 to 45 percent of shrinkage. "If you could stop all employee theft you could lower prices by 15 percent," he said.

Test answers are made from a verified sample of honest and dishonest people, he said, noting that 80 percent of dishonest people will answer that they have thought about taking things at work while 66 percent of honest people will say they have not.

"You're going to be right three times and wrong once," he said.

Other tests also are used in hiring. One local private investigator who handles background checks said those checks are among the most effective ways to weed out potential problems.

"The majority of industry that has problems with employees is all because they didn't do a simple background test," said Gary Heidrich, owner of Centre-Tech Detective Agency, 248 S. Burrowes St.

Klump said applicants for some jobs such as drug and money handling face polygraph tests. People taking polygraph tests must agree to sign releases because of the controversial nature of the tests, he said.