March 1996

The Policy Perspective On: Pass/Fail Assessment

• Statute
• Executive Order
• Governmentwide Regulation
• OPM Policy
• Agency Policy

Statute. Chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, addresses performance in terms of critical elements and performance standards that will permit the accurate evaluation of job performance and defines "unacceptable performance" as the failure to meet the established performance standards in one or more critical elements. This definition implies that the performance standard that must be met represents a "retention standard" since agencies are required to evaluate employees on the standards and are authorized to remove or demote employees on the basis of "unacceptable performance." Consequently, for a program that uses pass/fail to assess performance on a critical element, the established standard must reflect that retention level. In such a program, a performance standard that describes a level of performance higher than a retention level would violate the intent of the law, which requires a performance level to be available and applied to identify and take appropriate action in cases of unacceptable performance.

Executive Order. No Executive orders have been issued specifically on the subject of pass/fail.

Governmentwide Regulation. Final regulations, published in the Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 163, on August 23, 1995, permit the use of pass/fail for either element appraisal or assigning summary levels, or for both. An agency that permits programs not to provide for an "Outstanding" summary (Level 5) must provide for the establishment of criteria determining employee eligibility for a quality step increase.

OPM Policy. No formal policy has been developed on pass/fail assessment. OPM guidance on this subject is available in the concept paper, Pass/Fail Assessment: An Overview. OPM policy on submitting rating of record data to the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) is found in the OPM Operating Manual, FEDERAL WORKFORCE REPORTING SYSTEMS.

Agency Policy. Agency policies are contained in the performance appraisal system descriptions submitted by agencies to OPM for review and approval. Agencies are permitted, but not required, to allow pass/fail, i.e., two-level, assessment of performance elements and overall performance in their appraisal programs.