A computer-based selection test for the police service must fulfil the basic requirements of the civil servant selection procedure. A digital self-assessment test for the intermediate and higher police service at a police academy in Baden-Württemberg was in breach of this because it did not comply with the required transparency regulations. This is the result of a decision by the Administrative Court of Karlsruhe (Ref.: 3606/24 of 29 July 2025). The rejection of the plaintiff candidate was not sufficiently justified, the judges found.

Their criticism is directed in particular at a part of the test in which candidates were asked to answer questions about their aptitude using a continuous slider. This procedure was not transparent because the „answers“ could not be precisely documented. This was only possible retrospectively with the help of an administrator. However, it was not even possible to clarify whether the standard values used in this self-assessment test were based on the constitutional criteria for the selection of civil servants. This deficiency could not be rectified retrospectively.