Conducting the Performance Test cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1206-98

Explain how other systems are affected by performing this task.

Closed-ended questions are specific questions that are often answered with only one or two

words (e.g., Yes, No, Open, Closed, 150 psig). They may be used to clarify a statement the

trainee made in response to an open-ended question. Closed-ended questions place the

burden of conversation on the instructor in that he/she spends much more time thinking of and

stating the question than it takes the trainee to answer it. The following are two examples of

closed-ended questions:

Is there a danger of electrical shock while working on an energized motor

controller?

What indications of a loss of pump prime are available to you at this control

panel?

Use of leading questions should be minimized or avoided altogether. In a leading question the

instructor gives the trainee a partial answer and expects the trainee to complete it, or gives the

complete answer and expects the trainee to agree or disagree.

All questions asked during a performance test should relate to the evaluation standard.

Questions may include theory, system equipment, and a discussion of routine and/or

emergency procedures. Most facilities require the trainee to memorize the immediate actions

of an emergency procedure and expect the trainee to be able to rapidly locate the

supplementary or follow-up actions in the procedures. In many instances an employee in the

trainee's job classification does not perform all of the steps in a procedure. The instructor

should ask why the trainee does not perform these procedural steps, who does, how the

actions of others affect the task, and how he/she would know when to continue with his/her

part of the procedure.

The trainee may answer a question incorrectly during a performance test. The instructor's

response to the wrong answer should be as neutral as possible. The instructor may rephrase

the question and if the trainee still does not respond correctly, record it in the evaluation

standard and move to a different area. At the completion of the performance test the instructor

should clarify any misconceptions or have the trainee look up what he/she did not know.

It should be noted that evaluation standards contain 100% of the required knowledge. For

most tasks, the trainee is usually not required to know everything in the evaluation standard.

Many facilities require that the trainee accomplish the skills portion of a performance test with

100% accuracy and achieve at least 80% of the information required by the evaluation

standard. Other facilities require 100% accuracy on the skill requirements and a satisfactory or

unsatisfactory assessment of the knowledge requirements. Facility-specific procedures or the

OJT program's training administrative guidance should establish the task-specific skill and

knowledge levels.