Does Fsot Test Score Determine Position On Register

Beginning with the June Foreign Service Officer Examination (FSOT), the application process to get a Strange Service Officer (FSO) is changing. The FSOT will no longer serve "as a single gateway to applying." This is a significant change to the application process, with candidates and officers approving and disapproving of the modify (sources: 1, 2, 3, and iv). This change is too a continuation of State'south efforts to improve DEI (most recent change: new precepts).

This post will dive into the change and discuss the advantages and concerns from what nosotros know publicly about the application process.

The process, before the change

Before the announcement, changes to how FSO candidates were selected occurred, but the overall construction remained intact. Three such examples are:

Changing the biographical section to one request situational judgment question
Moving the FSOT essay to the QEP (i.e., a candidate must pass the FSOT to take the essay scored, and a candidate must score at to the lowest degree a vi to move forwards to the QEP)
Requiring candidates to submit their narratives as role of their application to register for the test (earlier the modify, candidates completed their narratives only if they passed the FSOT, and they would have 2-3 weeks to write their narratives)

All the same, the test was always the first component of the assessed process, thus creating the beginning bulwark for candidates.

Before the alter, the FSO selection process was equally follows:

A candidate must laissez passer the FSOT with a combined score of at least 154
A candidate must pass the QEP, which is a packet of the candidate's application, their FSOT essay, and the narratives
A candidate must pass the Oral Assessment (OA) with at least a score of v.25

For most 100 years, the FSOT has served as the start bulwark to an private'south candidacy.

Moving forward, a whole candidate approach

On Monday, Apr 25, the day the registration window opened for applicants to register for the June 2022 FSOT, the State Department published the following announcements:

"To meet the Secretarial assistant's goals to modernize American diplomacy, win the contest for talent, and ensure that all applicants can present a full picture of their individual qualifications, the Department of Country is announcing improvements to the Foreign Service selection process. The Department is moving away from the Strange Service Officer Test (FSOT) equally a pass/fail gateway test and expanding focus on a candidate's education and experience for a more holistic arroyo in the selection process.

Starting with June 2022 FSOT test takers, all candidates volition continue to the Qualification Evaluations Console (QEP) where their performance on the FSOT will be one cistron taken into consideration along with the Personal Narratives submitted during the registration process. Combined scores from the FSOT and the Qualification Evaluations Panel (QEP) – which reviews each candidate's piece of work history, instruction, experience, and half dozen cursory written narratives based on FS cadre precepts – will give the Section a more balanced view of candidates who will exist selected for the next phase of the selection process, the Foreign Service Oral Assessment (FSOA).

This is the nigh significant modify to the Foreign Service Selection process since 1930. Nosotros conceptualize that this change will result in identifying a more qualified puddle of candidates."

Oh. My. Goodness. This is a large change!

In brusk, no matter your score on the FSOT, your candidacy moves forward to the QEP, where the BEX (Board of Examiners) will assess your entire packet to determine if you lot move frontwards to the OA.

Advantages and concerns

So, this is a large modify. With any modification, especially pregnant ones, information technology's always good to look at the advantages and areas for business concern. Let's swoop in.

Advantages

The exam has often been described equally Jeopardy (specifically the chore knowledge section) and the bane for many candidates. Online estimates concord that roughly threescore% of candidates do not pass the FSOT, with many candidates and current officers taking the test multiple times earlier passing (myself included).

Information technology is not uncommon to wonder if knowing a random historical fact, supreme court decision, or management principle prepares you lot for the Service. Is the test an accurate indicator of who will make a "proficient" diplomat or just an indicator of someone who knows a good amount of information and is skillful at taking standardized tests? An argument can be made for either choice.

The bigger question, though, does the examination limit the diversification of incoming FSOs? The State Section says it does.

If this is accurate, removing the exam as a "single gateway to applying" is advantageous. State has long had a claiming with diversifying its officers and retaining them. Taking proactive approaches to meet this need is a good decision.

Furthermore, nothing is more annoying than receiving a score of 153.93, equally I did and countless others have, and not passing the examination. However, obtaining this score pushed me to practise better on the examination the following year, increasing my score by xiii points. That said, the new modify technically ways my candidacy still has a chance to make information technology to the OA, depending on how well I practise at the QEP.

Disadvantages

There are a few disadvantages to this change that I'll annotation here. Only before you read any of these, notation that I observe these disadvantages exist because of the lack of transparency from Land when it comes to the QEP selection procedure. If Country were to provide candidates with information on the pick process (i.eastward., a candidate'due south rank, scores received for each part of the parcel, and more than), and then I recollect many of these disadvantages would not be an issue.

How does BEX assess candidates via a holistic approach?

When information technology comes to the assessment, this is what State shares:

"The test administrator will forrad your FSOT scores, forth with your Registration Package minus any proscribed data (historic period, ethnicity, etc.), to the QEP.

The QEP uses a Total Candidate arroyo to review your:
- Educational and work background
- Responses to the Personal Narrative questions
- Self-evaluated language skill level
- FSOT essay score
At that place is no pre-ready cut-off score. The QEP evaluates your file within your chosen career track, looking at how well yous demonstrate the precepts outlined above.
The best-qualified candidates are invited to oral assessments based on the QEP evaluations and Country'south predictable hiring needs in each career rails, inter alia.

Although the QEP is a total file review, with no one element dominating all the factors considered, you have the well-nigh control over your responses to the PN. Your responses tin can be influential in determining your standing in your chosen career rails."

Equally the header question states, how does BEX appraise your package? If "no one chemical element dominates all the factors considered," does this hateful that each component is roughly 25% of my assessment?

If a candidate wants to gamble on their application, should they note that they are fluent in one of the critical needs languages? Would this increase their score on the QEP? I don't believe you are required to exam your abilities, and so how would BEX know? [warning: this is sarcasm, don't do this as you have to sign an attestation that y'all submit truthful information. I am trying to brand a point.]

Similarly, how does BEX weigh my education and piece of work background compared to someone else in my career track if the eligibility requirements to join the Foreign Service are equally follow:

A U.S. citizen on the appointment the candidate submits the registration package
At least 20 years old and no older than 59 years of age on the day the candidate submits the registration
At to the lowest degree 21 years old and not all the same 60 on the 24-hour interval the candidate is appointed every bit a Foreign Service Officer
Available for worldwide assignments, including Washington, D.C.

Are there specific experiences the State Department will weigh heavier than others? With the experiences sought later by Land change depending on administration? Will candidates learn why they were not selected?

These latter questions are some of the concerns raised by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) (statements one and 2). Though they favor improving the process of selecting officers, these modifications were fabricated without their council, and none of the data was shared publicly.

How will candidates learn to ameliorate?

How does all this "stack upward" for and amongst candidates? Will the process be consistent? For instance, will a candidate who scores highly on the exam and narratives always surpass someone who doesn't? Or, will there be times when a candidate who did not score well receives a higher placement because of their educational and work background?

Taking a holistic approach to assessing candidates opens upwards the opportunity for subjectivity and inconsistency. What will State do to address these items? How will candidates learn where they can improve or why they did non pass QEP? (Note: currently, BEX volition only notify the candidate if they are invited to attend OA or if they are not. No scores, ranks, or reasons are provided).

Though requiring improvement, the FSOT serving every bit a barrier provided candidates with a mensurate for how to amend. Unless the QEP provides information to candidates on where their candidacy lacked strength, a candidate volition not know if they need to improve their examination scores, narratives, or experience.

The reason why providing the data is vital is because one of the strengths of the FSO awarding process is the eligibility requirements. This is not a traditional awarding with a long list of conditions and experiences required for a candidate to apply. Not sure what I mean. For example, check out any USAJOBS posting (e.g., Foreign Affairs Officer).

How long volition it take to receive results?

This concern is a small disadvantage. Whereas the other notes are thinking with candidates, this one is thinking on behalf of the members of the BEX, who must now assess thousands more applications.

Traditionally, a notice of awards would get in 7-viii weeks afterward a candidate takes the FSOT. How much longer volition it take now?

Though I raise this concern, I want to note that over the last year, the BEX has taken closer to 10-12 weeks to return results from the QEP. Nosotros believed this was considering of COVID, but maybe they were testing out this new process? Hence the increased length to produce results and their conclusion that it is better to review all candidates, regardless of reaching a minimum score of 154.

Determination

State is making moves to improve the hiring of diverse candidates. They have chosen to remove the FSOT every bit the "unmarried gateway to applying" and move it to the QEP. I retrieve this has the potential to help meet the goals of State. However, I am concerned that if BEX continues its practice of non-transparency and not notifying candidates of their component and total scores at the QEP, the process may cause harm and increment frustration for candidates.

I look forward to seeing how this new procedure plays out with the June cohort. I look to BEX to proactively share QEP results with candidates.

Finally, what volition happen, if anything, to the OA? Are there areas for improvement here? Could an argument be fabricated that we could increment the diversity of FSOs if they were to remove rank on the annals past your OA score? Instead, brand it your length of fourth dimension on the register? State acknowledges these candidates are worthy of being FSOs. Why brand them go through the process again if they rank depression on the annals and time out?

I welcome your thoughts on all of the to a higher place!

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