The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) decided to explore alternative examining procedures for positions covered by the Administrative Careers with America (ACWA) examination. One requirement for new procedures was that they be automated for use with OPM's recently developed Microcomputer Assisted Rating System (MARS), a highly efficient system for presenting staffing options to agencies. In addition to the ACWA examination, OPM decided to develop rating schedules that could be used by agencies to hire at the entry level for professional and administrative occupations. The development of the new ACWA examination is described, including its biodata component and the occupational analysis that went into its preparation. An innovative approach was used to develop training and experience items that could be answered on a scannable answer sheet. Ratings developed by OPM psychologists were established for the ACWA occupations, and these were incorporated into rating schedules through the Behavioral Consistency Method. Validity issues in the Behavioral Consistency Method and the rating schedules are explored. (Contains 27 references.) (SLD)