FAA dumbing down

"Kissing the Black Ass" news

Before operational use of Air Traffic Selection And Training
(AT-SAT) for hiring purposes, concerns were raised about
differences in AT-SAT scores among protected groups
(including but not limited to female and black group
members.) Consequently, FAA management met with
representatives from these protected groups to solicit their
input. The original passing score of 70 had been calibrated
so that 62% of fully certified incumbent controllers would
achieve an AT-SAT score equal to, or greater than, 70. The
intent was to minimize FAA Academy and on-the-job training
failures and to compensate for the need for ATCSs to perform
potentially more difficult duties in the future (Waugh, 2001)."

"After these concerns were raised and the representatives’
comments were heard, FAA management directed AT-SAT
researchers to explore the possibility of reducing potential
adverse impact without unduly compromising the validity of
the test. Additionally, management decided that most fully
qualified incumbent FAA controllers should be able to pass
FAA’s entry-level aptitude test . AT-SAT researchers were
also asked to determine if reasonable changes could be made
to AT-SAT to mitigate differences between groups without
sacrificing validity as a predictor of ATCS job performance."