Assessment and Career Planning

							Assessment and Career Planning

           Chapter 5
               Introduction
• Assessment is the use of any formal or
  informal technique to collect data about a
  client.
• It is a tool of the trait-and-factor approach,
  which had its beginning with the three-step
  career choice process introduced by Frank
  Parsons.
Guidelines for Use of Trait-and-
Factor Approach in 21st Century
• Test data
  – are only one piece of a much larger puzzle.
  – should be used less for prediction and more for
    identifying new options.
• The client should be more involved in
  making the decision about whether to use
  assessment and for what purposes.
                                    1
                                Become
               7              awa re of ne ed
                             to make career               2
         Impleme nt             decisions               Le arn
        a voca tional                               about and/or
                                                     re eva luate
           choic e
                                                         self

                               Resources
    6                            (w ebsites,                        3
   Ma ke                         databases,
                                                                Identify
educ ational                  print materials,
                                                              occupational
  choic es                       software)                    alterna tives

                        5                        4
                     Ma ke                      Obtain
                   tentative                information
                 choic es from            about ide ntified
                among a vaila ble            alterna tives
                  occupations
     Assessment and the Career
         Planning Process
• Step 1 - may use an instrument to measure
  career maturity, career beliefs or decision-
  making style

• Step 2 - may use inventories to measure
  interests, abilities, skills, work values, or
  personality type
    Assessment and the Career
        Planning Process
• Step 3 - Score report from inventories given
  in Step 2 will suggest occupations.

• Step 4 - Assessment not likely to be used.

• Step 5 - Inventories of work-related values
  may be used to reduce number of options.
    Assessment and the Career
        Planning Process

• Step 6 - Tests that predict success in college
  or measure achievement in specific subject
  matter may be used.

• Step 7 - Instruments that measure work
  skills or personality type may be used.
       Purposes of Assessment
• Counselors can learn more about the needs
  (decision-making skills, career maturity,
  removal of irrational beliefs) of clients.

• Counselors can learn more about the
  characteristics (interests, abilities, skills,
  values, personality) of clients.
       Purposes of Assessment
• Clients can learn more about themselves
  (such as their interests, skills, abilities, work
  values, personality type).

• Counselors can measure the progress (in
  acquiring career maturity,decision-making
  skills, career decidedness) of an individual
  or group of individuals.
      Counselor Responsibilities
• Follow ethical guidelines provided by
  professional associations
• Possess knowledge
  –   basic principles of assessment
  –   details of specific instruments to be used
  –   how to prepare clients/students
  –   how to administer properly
  –   how to interpret properly
    Characteristics of Informal
           Assessment

• Instruments not subjected to scientific study
• Results for one person cannot be compared
  with those of others
• No standard linkage between results and
  occupational choices
• No standard way to interpret results
    Types of Informal Assessment
•   Checklists
•   Games
•   Career fantasies
•   Forced-choice activities
•   Card sorts
•   Structured interviews
     Characteristics of Formal
           Assessment

• Known validity (instrument measures what
  it claims to measure)

• Known reliability (results of a later
  administration will be highly similar to
  those of first administration)
     Characteristics of Formal
           Assessment

• Fairness related to diversity (instrument
  adequately researched with kinds of
  individuals who will later take the
  instrument)
• Measures of comparison (compares the
  scores of one individual with those of
  others)
   Common Interest Inventories
• Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS)
• Career Assessment Inventory (CAI)
• Career Occupational Preference Survey
  (COPS)
• Career Quest
• Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-
  Making System (CDMS)
  Common Interest Inventories,
                  continued

• Interest Determination, Exploration, and
  Assessment System (IDEAS)
• Interest Explorer
• Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS)
• Kuder Career Search with Person Match
• O*Net Interest Profiler
  Common Interest Inventories,
                  continued



• Self-Directed Search (SDS)
• Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
• Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest
  Inventory (UNIACT)
• Vocational Interest Inventory
Common Instruments to Measure
    Skills and Abilities

•   SkillScan
•   WorkKeys
•   Passion Revealer
•   Career Planning Survey
•   O*Net Ability Profiler
          Other Inventories

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) -
  measures personality type
• O*Net Work Importance Profiler -
  measures the importance of six work values
• Super’s Work Values Inventory - measures
  the importance of 12 work values
    Steps of the Assessment Process

•   Prepare students/clients for assessment
•   Administer instrument(s) properly
•   Interpret instrument(s) properly
•   Follow through to assist students/clients to
    use results for action planning
Ways to Administer and Interpret
         Assessment
• Print form - manual or optical scoring;
  counselor interpretation
• Computer (standalone or networked) -
  administration and scoring; counselor or
  computer interpretation
• Internet - administration, scoring, and
  interpretation
    Advantages of Internet Delivery

•   Can be taken from anywhere 24/7
•   Immediate scoring and feedback
•   Standard interpretation, though customized
•   Capability to share report with others
    electronically
  No-Fee Assessment Websites
• University of Waterloo Career Services -
  www.careerservices.uwaterloo.ca
• CareerKey - www.ncsu.edu/careerkey
• University of Missouri Career Center -
  http://career.missouri.edu (Select Career
  Interests Game)
• Motivational Assessment of Personal
  Potential - www.assessment.com
  For-Fee Assessment Websites

• Kuder Career Planning System -
  www.kuder.com

• Self-Directed Search - www.self-directed-
  search.com
           Types of Reports
• Raw scores - provide a tally of responses in
  a specific category; examinee cannot
  compare personal scores with those of
  others
• Percentile scores - compare the scores of
  one person with those of a selected norm
  group
Steps in Selection of Instruments
• Determine purpose of assessment.
• Consider characteristics of those to be
  assessed.
• Determine if norm group for instrument
  includes characteristics of persons to be
  tested.
• Investigate the reliability and validity of the
  instrument.
Steps in Selection of Instruments
• Read critical reviews and talk to other
  professionals.
• Acquire a sample copy, take it, and read
  publisher’s materials.
• Administer instrument to a few individuals
  and practice interpretation.
• Determine cost and options for
  administration and scoring.