Hit Rate
- Measures how accurately a discrimination analysis identifies members of a particular group.
- Used to assess the reliability of analyses that evaluate potential disparate treatment (e.g., lending, hiring).
- A high hit rate indicates accurate identification; a low hit rate suggests the analysis may be unreliable and affect the validity of conclusions.
Definition
Section titled “Definition”Hit rate refers to the proportion of individuals from a specific group who are correctly identified as belonging to that group by the analysis.
Explanation
Section titled “Explanation”In discrimination analysis, hit rate quantifies the share of group members that the analysis correctly classifies as belonging to that group. It functions as an accuracy metric for the analysis: higher values indicate that the analysis is correctly identifying individuals from the group of interest, while lower values indicate poorer identification performance. The hit rate therefore informs the reliability of the discrimination analysis and has implications for the validity of its findings and for assessments of fairness in the evaluated practices.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”Lending example
Section titled “Lending example”If a lender evaluates lending practices to determine whether loans are disproportionately denied to applicants from certain racial or ethnic groups, the hit rate is the proportion of loan applicants from each racial or ethnic group who were correctly identified as belonging to that group by the analysis.
Hiring example
Section titled “Hiring example”If a company evaluates hiring processes to determine whether job applicants from certain demographic groups are disproportionately rejected, the hit rate is the proportion of job applicants from each demographic group who were correctly identified as belonging to that group by the analysis.
Notes or pitfalls
Section titled “Notes or pitfalls”- A high hit rate indicates the analysis is correctly identifying individuals from specific groups.
- A low hit rate may indicate the analysis is not accurately identifying individuals from those groups, which can undermine the validity and usefulness of the analysis and affect judgments about fairness.
Related terms
Section titled “Related terms”- Discrimination analysis