The FAA and DEI

With the collision of an American Airlines plane and an army helicopter in DC the other night, and then Trump blaming the collision on DEI, I figured I should look into this a bit.

Having had some interaction with the FAA while training as an aircraft mechanic I can safely say that at least back then these were not people about to cut any corners. Safety was their first, last and middle names for obvious reasons.

But that was a long time ago. What about now?

What I do know is the FAA was using a "Biographical Assessment" test as a screening tool from 2013 up until 2018 for ATC candidates. 

Some critics argued that the questionnaire could lead to hiring less qualified candidates but proponents disagreed. 

There is an ongoing class action lawsuit related to the "Biographical Assessment" test. It was replaced in 2018, due to Congress passing a law banning its use, with the "Air Traffic Skills Assessment" test.

Personally, having not taken either, I know nothing about these two exams beyond their names.

However, the "Biographical Assessment" test was apparently intended to broaden the potential pool of ATC recruits. It's been my experience that broadening the pool of applicants is a good thing unless it's done artificially.

Regardless, both the "Biographical Assessment" test and the "Air Traffic Skills Assessment" test are screening tests. I would assume that the people who score the highest are then accepted for the rigorous training associated with becoming an air traffic controller.

So I would have a couple of questions. First, what effect did changing the screening test have on the number that passed the test? Second, how did those who passed the different screening tests do in completing the training? Were any adjustments ever made to the training requirements in order to get more candidates successfully through the training?

Of course I'll never get any answers to these questions but perhaps someone else might.