> 1. The test involves written comprehension, which black people in NYC
> suck at (I'm dropping political correctness for the rest of this message).
>
> 2. It was alleged, and the court apparently agreed, that this wasn't by
> accident, but done intentionally by the fire department.
>
> 3. The court allowed the city to make the case that the questions (or
> perhaps the _format_ of the test) was relevant to being a good
> firefighter. The court did not feel the city made the case.

The exam consists of 85 multiple-choice questions.
Some of the questions had long explanations which put
people who can't read well at a disadvantage.

IMO, firemen should be able to read.

The courts seem to think that testing for any "skill cluster" that isn't
strictly part of the job (as defined by the courts) is racist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/nyregion/24firefighters.html?ref=nyregion

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