The Rise of Immersive Cognitive Assessments: Towards Simulation-Based Assessment for Evaluating Applicants

Abstract

Imbellus is an assessment company that aims to test cognitive processes within the context of immersive simulation-based assessments. This paper explores our work with McKinsey & Company, a best-in-class management consulting firm, to build a simulation-based assessment that gauges applicants’ cognitive skills and abilities. Leveraging a cognitive task analysis grounded in theoretical work and practical observations of on the job activities, we defined key work activities and skills needed to complete them. We then developed scenarios that abstracted and generalized the most crucial skills. To make sense of significant telemetry data from users’ interactions with the assessment, we applied theoretically grounded expert models to guide our scoring algorithms. Our assessment draws inferences across seven major problem-solving constructs. We will present our initial findings and describe implications of our current work for the fields of artificial intelligence and assessment.