Associate Ratings of Senior Officer Potential

Abstract : The optimal utilization of peer nominations among senior officers was studied as a possible technique for selection for promotion, senior service colleges, duty assignments, and periodic assessments for use with the proposed Officer Personnel Management System (OPMS). Peer nominations were obtained, by mail, from two independent samples (a total of 1775; a return rate of 76%) of active duty Army colonels. The instructions required that the rater identify the officers about whom they could make a reasoned judgement, then indicate those considered to possess the potential for promotion to General Officer. Explanatory comments concerning the basis for selection or any aspect of the rating procedure were invited. The peer nominations were found to be administratively feasible, but accepted by less than half of the respondents. The most acceptable point of application was among the more junior respondents to permit the use of peer ratings for senior service college selection and possibly promotion later. The spread of scores indicated that the technique yields adequate differentiation and reliability for operational use once the problem of acceptability is solved.