Assessment and Evaluation in the Student Environment
Counselors evaluate a person’s aptitudes, accomplishments, interests, values, and personalities through tests and interviews in the multidimensional career evaluation process. As previously said, career development evaluation looks at content and procedure. Frank Parsons, who first outlined vocational counseling in his book Choosing a Vocation in 1909, is frequently credited with inventing career evaluation. Later, his ideas became known as the trait-and-factor theory (Watson & Flamez, 2014).
Implementing the trait-and-factor approach involves three components: self-awareness, attitudes, talents, interests, and goals. Comprehending a work’s benefits, drawbacks, prospects, and pay is essential, as is matching these elements. During this period, counselors relied more on observations and interviews. Soon, official evaluations were created to help people choose the right professional objectives.
Frank Parsons laid the groundwork for career evaluations in 1909, but it was not until 1914 that the first well-known career assessment was developed. Educator Jesse Davis developed the Student Vocational Self Analysis, intending to identify prospective career choices for students in public schools enrolled in the 10th grade (Watson & Flamez, 2014). The creation of career evaluations began in education and eventually spread to other fields. Psychologist James Minor developed weighted-score interest questions in 1917, and the Carnegie Institute of Technology employees created the Carnegie Interest Inventory in 1920.
The Carnegie Interest Inventory catalyzed the development of several new evaluation instruments. Storm’s creation of the Storm Vocational Interest Blank, which served as the basis for today’s measures, is notable. L. L. Thurstone’s Interest Schedule, the first career evaluation that included components of psychological theory, was created in 1947 due to these foundations (Watson & Flamez, 2014).
The support from both commercial and educational environments grew, creating new interest inventories. As these tests became more well-known, so did their use in various industries. Career evaluations are a common addition to counselors’ tools today to help their clients.
Goals and Purposes of the Assessment Program/Plan
Career evaluations are valuable tools that support people as they explore their professional options, help them make wise career decisions, and encourage the development of a career identity. Career evaluations given to high school students can help them determine what occupations would fit their interests and skills. Furthermore, they can help them make more easily made decisions about whether to continue higher education and what subjects they want to pursue.
Conversely, many businesses utilize career evaluations to find people who fit well in their new jobs and advance the organization. Career evaluations are also used by counselors for vocational rehabilitation to assist people who have acquired a handicap that prevents them from returning to their prior employment and research potential future career fits (Khine, 2020). As experts have found, career assessments have grown in importance in many counseling settings due to the significant adverse effects that high unemployment rates and stressors associated with the workplace have on mental health issues.
A career aptitude test can help students narrow their work options and select a career path suitable to their interests, talents, values, and personality. This may be important when they are unsure of the type of job they desire or what they would like to do next with their career. The twist is that evaluations can give students fundamental ideas about what they may be most suited to do, so career tests do not merely give them a chance to dream about what they want.
Tests assist students in understanding the kind of setting and employment that will enable them to succeed personally. Try out free career tests; they may take some time to find out about professions that may be a perfect fit. Review information about how career evaluations can guide young people’s career choices and what the assessments will evaluate.
However, before administering tests and assessments, students should clarify a few essential points. Finding the foundation—more specifically, the basic tenets of this survey—should be the first step. It should be explained that career assessments can assist students in reducing their list of potential jobs and exploring their career alternatives. Most career counseling tests create information about possible assignments by asking questions about interests, values, and preferred tasks (Khine, 2020). Taking career exams can be an excellent start when learning about various positions that would suit students’ future careers.
Information Needed
It is best to use various sources while gathering student data to create more focused inquiries. First, people must collect information on student grades, behavior, and academic achievement as a source of knowledge. Additionally, users will be given information on extracurricular activity involvement, which may impact each student’s final assessment. The review of these materials will ultimately be the most useful in working with pupils.
Assessment Instruments
The examinations listed below are free to take online and can help students decide on their future job. Several of these tests can be used, in particular, to compare options, information, formulations, and related data. One well-known aptitude test that can help people identify the best jobs that suit their personality is the 123 Career Aptitude Test.
By watching collections of photos that demonstrate particular work tasks, students can complete the test in just a few minutes. To learn about the vocations and work environments that best suit their personalities, students will select the classes they enjoy the most and avoid the least. This exam could take 5 to 10 minutes to finish on average.
Users can assess their interests, personality types, skills, professional ideals, and preferred work and social environments on the free CareerExplorer website to uncover matches that will result in fulfilling employment. After students complete a series of questions—which takes around 30 minutes—the exam presents job alternatives. Each of the suggested job paths is covered in great detail. Users can also browse classes by clusters, including those for Health & Nutrition, Law, Arts & Entertainment, Animals, Food & Drink, Politics & Law, Sports, Travel, Music, Engineering, and Science.
The CareerOneStop Interests Assessment is a quick and easy way to get a list of careers that might match students’ interests. It will take about five minutes to answer 30 questions about what users like to do and what they do not like to do. Upon completing the assessment, students will receive a list of eligible occupations with salary information, education requirements, and job prospects (Assessment and Evaluation in Bilingual Education, 2022). For professions that interest a person the most, they can view additional information about the job and how to start a career.
Disseminating Results
Work values ​​are what a person considers most important in their work. This could be finding a high-paying position, working in a team, working independently, or helping others. Use the CareerOneStop Work Values ​​Matcher tool to find careers and employers that match students’ values (Hauser, n.d.). The test asks questions about various aspects of the job or workplace to help students find their ideal work environment. It only takes a few minutes to sort the cards in order of what matters most to the students or interviewer.
Ongoing Evaluation
A verbal and written survey should be conducted to obtain feedback and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. It can be anonymous, which will help to bring sincere and reliable data. In particular, anonymous feedback from students and faculty will be constructive in adjusting the use of the model in the future.
People can also conduct a voluntary survey to receive feedback, but without the condition of anonymity. This will help cross-reference all the data with specific survey participants and evaluate the effectiveness of the study and the results. In this case, this approach is the most effective in getting feedback on the model’s performance.
References
Assessment and Evaluation in Bilingual Education. (2022). Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers.
Hauser, J. (n.d.). Vocational Assessment and Transition Planning. NESCA. Web.
Khine, M. S. (2020). Contemporary Perspectives on Research in Educational Assessment. Van Haren Publishing.
Watson, J., & Flamez, B. (2014). Counseling Assessment and Evaluation: Fundamentals of Applied Practice (Counseling and Professional Identity) (1st ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.