Can Compensation Drive Testing Results?

The following news item came via the IPAT listserv. It deals with the high failure rate on the recent New York Fire Department Promotional Exam.

According to the New York Post, “It was a massive medical failure for hundreds of FDNY medics who hoped to get promoted, as a measly eight out of 721 city Emergency Medical Service workers passed the most recent lieutenant exam. The 1.1 percent pass rate for the 2008 test is about 38 percentage points lower than the last time the exam was given, in 2004, when 1,044 medics took the test and 409, or 39 percent, passed, The Post has learned.”

What I found most interesting about this case was the possibility that the results were a function of the pay schedules or compensation system. Again according to the New York Post, “Lieutenant pay starts at $48,900 annually, according to the city’s exam notice. Top paramedics can expect a base salary of $59,000, and several thousand dollars more in meal money, overtime and shift-differential pay.” In addition, you might expect that the paramedics would start at the bottom of the Lieutenant list when it came to the application of seniority in matters like selecting shifts or locations.

I have encountered similar situations. In such a case, there is relatively little motivation for anyone to study for the exam or desire a promotion. If the article is correct, then there would appear to be a compensation problem driving the testing results.