The purpose of these competencies is to provide a description of the knowledge and skills that school counselors need in the areas of assessment and evaluation. Because effectiveness in assessment and evaluation is critical to effective counseling, these competencies are important for school counselor education and practice. The competencies can be used by counselor and assessment educators as a guide in the development and evaluation of school counselor preparation programs, workshops, in service, and other continuing education opportunities. They may also be used by school counselors to evaluate their own professional development and continuing education needs. School counselors should meet each of the nine numbered competencies and have the specific skills listed under each competency.
School counselors are skilled in choosing assessment strategies.
They can describe the nature and use of different types of formal and informal assessments, including questionnaires, checklists, interviews, inventories, tests, observations, surveys, and performance assessments, and work with individuals skilled in clinical assessment. They can specify the types of information most readily obtained from different assessment approaches. They are familiar with resources for critically evaluating each type of assessment and can use them in choosing appropriate assessment strategies. School counselors can identify, access, and evaluate the most commonly used assessment instruments. They know which assessment instruments are most commonly used in school settings to assess intelligence, aptitude, achievement, personality, work values, and interests, including computer-assisted versions and other alternate formats.