THE MEASUREMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCE IN THE USE OF CAREER ASSESSMENTS

A prototype measure of competency in the use of assessments in career counseling, A Measure of Assessment Competency (AMAC), was developed in response to a professional need to operationalize the meaning of competency in career assessment. The Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) was used as the assessment instrument of observation for the study. Total competency scores of the AMAC were significantly associated with the number of CTIs administered under the supervision of a faculty trainer. Furthermore, research studies have compared novices and experts regarding the use of counseling techniques, explored developmental changes in trainees, and identified personal characteristics of counselors. The competent use of assessments in career counseling emphasizes selecting assessments that are appropriate for individual client situations, for providing information useful for career problem solving and decision making, and for initiating effective interventions to facilitate the career counseling process. Content validity is defined as the extent to which the items of a test are related to the instructional domain the test intends to measure.