FAQ Categories

Knowledge, Skills, and Ability Assessments

What is a Knowledge, Skills, and Ability Assessment?
What types does Brainbench offer?
When are these assessments appropriate to use?
How long do these assessments take?
What do the results look like and how do I interpret them?
What versions are available?
Why should I use a Standard Assessment when the Express Assessment is cheaper?
How much customization is possible?
How do I access these assessments?

What is a Knowledge, Skills, and Ability (KSA) Assessment?

These include many different types of assessment formats designed to measure a specific knowledge area, skill, or ability (KSA). Typically, a job requires more than one KSA. Measuring KSAs during selection helps you evaluate the amount of training that a candidate will require before becoming productive on the job, as well as how fast the candidate will be able to learn advanced topics. This can be especially important in jobs where there is little or no training time available.

What types does Brainbench offer?

Brainbench offers nearly 500 different KSA assessments. These can be divided into the following categories:

• Computer Software
• Essential Skills
• Health Care
• Financial Industry Knowledge
• Information Technology
• Languages and Communication
• Management
• Office Skills

Many of our tests are innovative, such as our audio Listening Skills tests, and our automatically scored essay tests. To see a complete listing of Brainbench Knowledge, Skill, and Ability Assessments, download the PDF version of our Assessment Catalog (350 KB).

Nearly all Brainbench KSA assessments use our unique and industry-leading computer-adaptive testing (CAT) algorithm. For more information about CAT, please see The Science Behind the Tests.

When are these assessments appropriate to use?

KSA assessments are appropriate when the knowledge, skill, or ability they measure can clearly be shown to be job-related and is not easily trainable once the person is on the job.

How long do these assessments take?

Each test comes in two versions: Standard and Express. Standard-length assessments are 40 questions long, while Express-length assessments are 16 questions long. The Standard version usually takes 45 minutes to administer. The Express version usually takes 15 minutes to administer.

What do the results look like and how do I interpret them?

The following is an example of our KSA test results. These results are e-mailed immediately following a completed test, and are also available anytime in your online account. An overall score on a scale of 1-5 is provided, so is a percentile score on a scale of 1-100. Finally, individual strengths and weaknesses are listed.

Additionally, there are extensive detail reports available to look at specific questions, or create a histogram of results, such at the following:

What versions are available?

Each test comes in two versions, Standard and Express. Standard length assessments are 40 questions long, while Express length assessments are 16 questions long.

Why should I use a Standard Assessment when the Express Assessment is cheaper?

The Standard version covers more topics within the test subject and provides strengths and weaknesses that are useful for planning training and comparing candidates. Additionally, because the reliability of the Standard version is higher, it is more useful when comparing a smaller number of candidates to each other when making a hiring decision.

How much customization is possible?

Occasionally, a library KSA test covers things you don't want covered and may miss aspects of a skill that are critical to a specific job. Brainbench has customized over 500 tests for our clients over the past few years. Please contact us if you need a customized test to meet your needs.

How do I access these assessments?

All of the standard Pre-hire Personality Assessments are available inside your Corporate Account. Please see the Brainbench Assessment System FAQ for additional details on how to set-up and access your Corporate Account.