RAF aptitude test results per ethnicity

The request was successful.

Dear Ministry of Defence,

I hope you can supply some data per the Freedom of Information Act. Please provide the means, samples sizes, and standard deviations for the Naval Royal Air Force (RAF) aptitude test by narrow ethnic group for the last 5 years.

Ethnicity should be as narrow as possible, e.g. Bangladeshi rather than Asian if that applies to your recording. Preferably, a summary general cognitive scores would be reported, however, we can compute this from the 7 cognitive subtest scores if necessary.

If it is more convenient, please generate this data in a raw format for each individual with ethnicity in one column and results in the other columns. This may be simpler and circumvent restrictions on generating new information.

See the (ideal) format from a related request: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...

Yours faithfully,

John Fuerst

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

 

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

Your request has been logged under our reference 2020/05318 and the target
date for response is 04/06/2020

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Air Command Secretariat

 

 

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

Please see attached response to your recent request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Air Command Secretariat

 

Dear Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER),

Thank you for the clarification request. I would like "Royal Air Force' aptitude test scores by narrow ethnic groups for the last 5 years. Please include sample sizes, means, and standard deviations, if available.

Ethnicity should be as narrow as possible, e.g. Bangladeshi rather than Asian if that applies to your recording.

Preferably, a summary general cognitive score would be reported, however, we can compute this from the 7 cognitive subtest scores if necessary.

Yours sincerely,

John Fuerst

Dear Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER),

I am writing to remind you about this outstanding FOI request.

I appreciate that there may be delays owing to the pandemic.

However, could you acknowledge that you are still processing the request?

Yours sincerely,

John Fuerst

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    20200609 FOI 2020 06498 Fuerst Aptitude Test Results by ethnicity FINAL.pdf

    167K Download View as HTML

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

Please see attached response to your recent request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Air Command Secretariat

 

 

Kind Regards

Rona

 

Miss Rona Warren

Desk Officer, Air-DRes Sec 2b1, Secretariat, HQ Air Command, RAF High
Wycombe,

Buckinghamshire, HP14 4UE. Mil 95221 5613.  01494 495613
[1][email address]

 

The Air Command Secretariat multiuser mailbox is:
[2][email address]

 

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Dear Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER),

You replied: "the recruiting IT system does not record the detail of specific ethnicity as per your example of Bangladeshi rather than Asian. Additionally, we do not analyse the data from the aptitude test scores by means of ethnic category"

Could you then provide, instead, a two-column file of individual scores. In the first column, give the broad ethnic category (Asian, Black, Whites...) of the individual and, in the second, the percentile summary score for that individual. And do this for the years requested. I will analyze the data.

Yours sincerely,
John Fuerst

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

Your request has been logged under our reference 2020/06829 and the target
date for response is 15/07/2020

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Air Command Secretariat

 

 

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    20200630 FOI 2020 06829 Fuerst Aptitude Test Results by ethnicity FINAL.pdf

    103K Download View as HTML

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

Please see attached response to your recent request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Air Command Secretariat

 

 

Dear Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER),

You said: "The MOD holds data that could be used to produce information to answer the request. However, to produce the information based on this data would require significant data manipulation including complex analysis and sophisticated judgement to the extent that it can be considered ‘new’ information which is not currently held."

Could you explain why both the Arny and Navy provided these data, but the airforce will not?
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...
In the absence of a good reason, I am inclined to seek an internal review regarding whether this is "new" information.

Yours sincerely,
John Fuerst

Dear Ministry of Defence,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Ministry of Defence's handling of my FOI request 'RAF aptitude test results per ethnicity'. I had originally requested RAF aptitude test summary scores by ethnic group. This request was rejected on the grounds that, "we do not analyse the data from the aptitude test scores by means of ethnic category". As such, I requested the data which would allow me to conduct this analysis:

“Could you then provide, instead, a two-column file of individual scores. In the first column, give the broad ethnic category (Asian, Black, Whites...) of the individual and, in the second, the percentile summary score for that individual. And do this for the years requested. I will analyze the data.”

In response, MOD claimed that providing such would "require significant data manipulation":

"The MOD holds data that could be used to produce information to answer the request. However, to produce the information based on this data would require significant data manipulation including complex analysis and sophisticated judgement to the extent that it can be considered ‘new’ information which is not currently held."

As the MOD has provided scores both for army and navy test aptitude tests, I am not requesting anything more than previously. Moroever, I have offered to do the analysis myself, if the MOD would simply provide a file with the scores / percentiles and ethnicity for the deidentified individuals or, alternatively, provides two files, one with scores and an identifying number and one with ethnicity and an identifying number, where those identifying numbers were the same for a given individual.

What I am asking for in no way involve "significant data manipulation including complex analysis and sophisticated judgement". And other ministries which I have contacted (e.g., Civil Service) have readily provided this data.

Could you please review this request and MOD's handling of it?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

John Fuerst

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

Please see attached response to your recent communication.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Air Command Secretariat

 

 

 

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

The Department's target for completing internal reviews is 20 working days
and we therefore aim to complete the review and respond to you by 24
August 2020. While we are working hard to achieve this, in the interests
of providing you with a more realistic indication of when you should
expect a response, we should advise that the majority are currently taking
between 20 and 40 working days to complete.

 

The internal review that will involve a full, independent reconsideration
of the handling of the request as well as the final decision.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

 

----Original Message-----
From: John Fuerst <[1][FOI #662186 email]>
Sent: 24 July 2020 00:14
To: CIO-FOI (MULTIUSER) <[2][email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - RAF aptitude
test results per ethnicity

 

Dear Ministry of Defence,

 

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

 

I am writing to request an internal review of Ministry of Defence's
handling of my FOI request 'RAF aptitude test results per ethnicity'. I
had originally requested RAF aptitude test summary scores by ethnic group.
This request was rejected on the grounds that, "we do not analyse the data
from the aptitude test scores by means of ethnic category". As such, I
requested the data which would allow me to conduct this analysis:

 

“Could you then provide, instead, a two-column file of individual scores.
In the first  column, give the broad ethnic category (Asian, Black,
Whites...) of the individual and,  in the second, the percentile summary
score for that individual.  And do this for the  years requested. I will
analyze the data.”

 

In response, MOD claimed that providing such would "require significant
data manipulation":

 

"The MOD holds data that could be used to produce  information to answer
the request. However, to produce the information based on this data  would
require significant data manipulation including complex analysis and
sophisticated judgement to the extent that it can be considered ‘new’
information which is not currently held." 

 

As the MOD has provided scores both for army and navy test aptitude tests,
I am not requesting anything more than previously. Moroever, I have
offered to do the analysis myself, if the MOD would simply provide a file
with the scores / percentiles and ethnicity for the deidentified
individuals or, alternatively, provides two files, one with scores and an
identifying number and one with ethnicity and an identifying number, where
those identifying numbers were the same for a given individual.

 

What I am asking for in no way involve "significant data manipulation 
including complex analysis and sophisticated judgement".  And other
ministries which I have contacted (e.g., Civil Service)  have readily
provided this data.

 

Could you please review this request and MOD's handling of it?

 

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[3]https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

Yours faithfully,

 

John Fuerst

 

 

 

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Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

I appreciate possible delay owing to the pandemic.

However, could you clarify that they are still looking into this matter?

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

John Fuerst

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

Good morning Mr Fuerst,

We apologise that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the effect on resources and necessary changes to ways of working has delayed our ability to respond.

However, we should advise you that a response should be with you very soon.

Kind regards,

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

-----Original Message-----
From: John Fuerst <[FOI #662186 email]>
Sent: 19 September 2020 08:11
To: CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: 20200724: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - RAF aptitude test results per ethnicity

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

I appreciate possible delay owing to the pandemic.

However, could you clarify that they are still looking into this matter?

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

John Fuerst

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

The Department's target for completing internal reviews is 20 working days

and we therefore aim to complete the review and respond to you by 24

August 2020. While we are working hard to achieve this, in the interests

of providing you with a more realistic indication of when you should

expect a response, we should advise that the majority are currently taking

between 20 and 40 working days to complete.

 

The internal review that will involve a full, independent reconsideration

of the handling of the request as well as the final decision.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #662186 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:

https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

2 Attachments

Good afternoon Mr Fuerst,

Please See Attached internal review and tables for FOI2020/06829

Yours sincerely,

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

-----Original Message-----
From: John Fuerst <[FOI #662186 email]>
Sent: 19 September 2020 08:11
To: CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: 20200724: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - RAF aptitude test results per ethnicity

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

I appreciate possible delay owing to the pandemic.

However, could you clarify that they are still looking into this matter?

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

John Fuerst

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Fuerst,

 

The Department's target for completing internal reviews is 20 working days

and we therefore aim to complete the review and respond to you by 24

August 2020. While we are working hard to achieve this, in the interests

of providing you with a more realistic indication of when you should

expect a response, we should advise that the majority are currently taking

between 20 and 40 working days to complete.

 

The internal review that will involve a full, independent reconsideration

of the handling of the request as well as the final decision.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #662186 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:

https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

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hide quoted sections

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Thank you for this information. Can you clarify if the index scores (e.g., index A or AIS) are equivalent to T-scores (i.e., with a standard deviation of 10). If not, what are the expected standard deviations for the RAF aptitude test index scores? (For example, the Army ACT index scores us a SD of 10, making them T-scores).

Yours sincerely,
John Fuerst

Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fuerst,

Please find attached a response to your below request.

Yours sincerely,

Air Command Secretariat

-----Original Message-----
From: John Fuerst <[FOI #662186 email]>
Sent: 14 October 2020 19:52
To: CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: 20200724: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - RAF aptitude test results per ethnicity

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Thank you for this information. Can you clarify if the index scores (e.g., index A or AIS) are equivalent to T-scores (i.e., with a standard deviation of 10). If not, what are the expected standard deviations for the RAF aptitude test index scores? (For example, the Army ACT index scores us a SD of 10, making them T-scores).

Yours sincerely,
John Fuerst

-----Original Message-----

Good afternoon Mr Fuerst,

Please See Attached internal review and tables for FOI2020/06829

Yours sincerely,

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #662186 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:
https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections