Examinations

It is the policy of the Department of General Services (DGS) to administer examinations in accordance with the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) and statutory authority for all civil service examinations. DGS will not test or allow certification or appointment of employees who have already transferred into the classification on a list appointment, and who have permanent status (passed probation) for which an examination is being administered.

An examination is the act of giving students or candidates a test (as by questions) to determine what they know or have learned.

In accordance with Government Code (GC) section 18930, examinations for the establishment of eligible lists shall be competitive and of such character as fairly to test and determine the qualifications, fitness, and ability of competitors actually to perform the duties of the class or position for which they seek appointment.

Examinations for managerial positions, except for career executive assignments as defined in GC section 18547, shall be held on an open basis unless the appointing authority determines otherwise. “Managerial position” means those positions having the duties which are defined under “managerial employees” in subdivision (e) of GC section 3513. When an open examination is administered for a non-career executive assignment managerial position, the names of the applicants who pass the examination with a passing score shall be placed on one list and ranked in the relative order of the examination score received.

Examinations may be assembled or unassembled, written or oral, or in the form of a demonstration of skill, or any combination of these; and any investigation of character, personality, education, and experience and any tests of intelligence, capacity, technical knowledge, manual skill, or physical fitness which CalHR deems are appropriate, may be employed.

GC section 18935 authorizes CalHR “to refuse to examine, or after examination, refuse to declare as an eligible or withhold or withdraw from certification, prior to appointment,” in some cases as defined under subsections (a) through (b). If this situation occurs, the Exams Unit will notify the applicant in writing of his/her disqualification from the examination.