Performance appraisal plays a crucial role in maintaining a high quality and competitive workforce, but has been ignored so far from the civil service reform agenda in Bangladesh. At present, an Annual Confidential Report (ACR) that was introduced in the Pakistan period and retained with minor modification is used to measure performance. The prevailing gross inefficiency of the Bangladesh Civil Service gives the impression that this appraisal system is poorly functioning. This paper articulates the difficulties in designing a good appraisal system in the public sector and provides a theoretical framework arguing that the ‘goodness’ of a PA system should be seen in its capacity to meet its predetermined objectives instead of counting on the so called infallible psychometric properties. A certain degree of validity, reliability and perceived fairness are essential for an appraisal system to be efficacious. The paper then analyzes historical development of the current ACR of Bangladesh Civil Service and its components to measure its validity, reliability and perceived fairness. The paper found that though the current ACR holds some degree of fairness, it significantly lacks in validity as well as reliability, and therefore is deficient in meeting its stated objectives.
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