The COBOL Programming test is designed to assess the knowledge and skills of job candidates and employees in writing, debugging, deploying, and maintaining COBOL programs for business applications, targeting entry-level to mid-level programmers. The assessment evaluates a broad range of skill areas, including COBOL Program Structure and Divisions, Data Definition and the Data Division, File Handling, Procedure Division Logic covering arithmetic, conditionals, and PERFORM statements, Table Handling with OCCURS clauses, subscripts, and SEARCH statements, and Debugging along with Copybooks and COPY Statements. The test features a variety of question formats, including Multiple Choice, Multiple Correct Answer, and Essay Composition questions, with some questions incorporating AI-assisted scoring for more nuanced evaluation. To enhance the integrity and predictive accuracy of the assessment, questions are drawn from a large pool to minimize cheating, and select questions are subject to individual time limits.

The specific attributes measured include:

Following completion, the test produces a Candidate Selection Report that includes an overall score and detailed scores for each attribute.

The Candidate Selection Report also provides expert interview questions that help you probe critical or low-scoring areas, along with a guide for noting your evaluation of the candidate's responses. Consistent use of an interview guide is an important part of gaining better candidate insights and making better hiring decisions.

Note that while the COBOL Programming assessment is a useful and efficient instrument for confirming a base level of skill or knowledge about this important topic, it is not intended to pinpoint the exact level of candidate or skill. We recommend that skills tests, like this one, be used in parallel with other measurements, such as cognitive ability, job fit, and behavioral history. Each different type of test provides a valuable piece of information you can use when evaluating potential job performance.