Union questions state’s changes to Promotion Test Battery policy
By SHERRY HALBROOK
PEF is asking the state Department of Civil Service (DCS) to rethink some major changes to its Promotion Test Battery (PTB) policy that were announced December 30, 2005.
DCS says it can’t afford to continue giving both levels of the PTB exam yearly. Instead, DCS has announced it will give the PTB tests half as often, and it has retroactively slashed the shelf life of the test scores by 60 percent — two changes that could seriously narrow the opportunity for PEF members to qualify for state job promotions.
What’s changing
This year, both levels of the PTB will be given but, starting next year, only one level will be offered every year on an alternating basis — the supervisors/specialist exam in 2007, and the test for mid-level and high-level managers and administrators in 2008.
And, effective January 1, 2006, PTB scores are only being banked for four years, rather than 10. It’s retroactive, so, if you last took the PTB in 2002 or earlier you’ll need to take it again this year because your current score will only be useable until December 31, 2006.
However, there is an exception. If you are already on a civil service list of eligible candidates that has used your PTB score from 1996 or later, your score on that specific eligible list remains good until the list expires.
During calendar year 2006, promotion exams with an announced “applications must be postmarked by” date of December 31, 2006, or earlier will draw PTB scores from 1996 and after. Examinations with an announced postmarked-by date of January 1, 2007, or later will draw PTB scores from 2004 and after.
If you can’t recall exactly what your score was or when you took the PTB test, don’t worry. You can go online now to find it on the DCS Web site at
www.cs.state.ny.us. Just click on Jobs, then Promotion Test Batteries Banked Scores and Information. You must enter your state-employee user ID and password to view your PTB score(s).
PEF: Nix retroactivity
“It’s unfair to retroactively change civil service policy, since candidates who took the PTB from 1997 to 2005 reasonably had the expectation their test scores would be good for the entire 10 years,” PEF President Roger Benson stated in a letter to state Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Wall. “I ask you to reconsider the retroactive application of the new four-year limit for PTB scores,” Benson added.
Preliminary investigations by PEF have revealed that while the DCS announcement of PTB tests have stated the scores would be banked for “up to” 10 years, the announcements of exam scores to people who took the tests simply said they were good “for” 10 years.
DCS officials have said 10 years is too long and inconsistent with the four-year limits on eligible lists, preferred lists and reemployment rosters. And, since many eligible lists are now extended to six or eight years, some candidates’ PTB scores have been used for 16 to 18 years. In such situations, even under the new policy, some PTB scores could be used for eight years or more, depending on when the candidate uses the PTB score in a civil service examination.
Candidates who take the PTB in more than one year will still be able to bank their best PTB score for as long as it remains useable. According to DCS, very few people have taken the PTB more than once.
“The DCS has advised us it will make every effort to schedule future promotion exams at times which ensure most candidates will have valid PTB scores,” said PEF Director of Civil Service Enforcement Tom Cetrino.
DCS is also updating its PTB Study Guide by adding more multiple-choice example questions and by improving the explanations of the simulation portion of the PTB test and of how the PTB tests are scored.
The
Communicator February 2006
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