Occupational and Vocational Assessment Options in

Transition Planning

Gary M. Clark, Ed.D.

Department of Special Education

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS 66045

gclark@ku.edu

What do we need to know for vocational planning?

Student’s personal interests and preferences

Family preferences for studentSelf-determination knowledge and skillsEmployability skillsVocational skills

Assessing Personal Interests and Preferences

Student interests and preferences

Family preferences

Examples of Occupational Interest Scales

Ashland Interest Assessment Career Assessment Inventory Career Directions Inventory Interest Determination Exploration and

Assessment System (IDEAS) Occupational Interest Schedule (OASIS-3) Self Directed Search Your Employment Selection (YES)

Informal Assessment of Occupational Interests and

Preferences

Interviews

Surveys

Checklists

Structured Interviews

A structured interview is an informal assessment technique, but it has structure to it.

An interview protocol is used to stay focused on the area of information desired, but probes or questions asking for clarification or examples are permitted.

Examples of Structured Interview Questions

What is your best subject in school? Why do you think that is your best subject?

What is your best area of strength outside of school? Why are you good at that?

What did you want to be when you were in elementary school? What do you want to be when you are an adult?

Strategies for a Structured Interview

Make the purpose of the interview clear and assure the interviewee that opinion questions have no right or wrong answers, but factual questions do.

Provide the person a copy of the questions before the interview, if possible, especially if some questions require recall of specific facts or events.

Strategies for a Structured Interview, cont’d.

Come prepared with a set of questions on a form or some notes for targeting questions.

Be flexible. Follow up on specific questions, getting clarification as needed; return to list of questions.

Conduct interviews in person, if possible.

Strategies for a Structured Interview, cont’d.

Write down enough information during the interview so you can remember the person’s responses. Complete notes later. Use tape recorder only with permission.

Avoid leading the person to answer a certain way or inserting personal biases.

Allow sufficient response time to permit person to respond fully.

Surveys

Surveys are forms that have written questions, multiple-choice responses, checklists, or ratings designed to get information related to facts, opinions, preferences, interests, or values .

Surveys

Advantages:1. Provides respondent more time to think

about answers2. Provides a written record of the questions

and answers3. May be amended at any time by the

respondent4. Multiple content areas may be assessed

Surveys

Disadvantages:

1. Requires reading and writing, a problem for non-readers and limited English-speaking persons

2. Depends upon respondents’ willingness to be honest in responses

Checklists

Advantages:

1. Permit assessment of a variety of behaviors

2. Permit quick responses

3. Eliminate students’ need to write

Checklists

Disadvantages:

1. Requires reading

2. Many responses are not easily answered with Yes/No or a simple check that the behavior/trait applies most of the time

3. No chance to immediately probe answers

4. Problems in reliability

Assessing Self-Determination Knowledge and Skills

Examples of Self-Determination Scales

Arc Self-Determination Scale Responsibility and Independence Scale for

Adolescents

Informal Assessment of Self-Determination Knowledge and

Skills

Observation notes

Rating scales

Checklists

Strategies for Developing Behavioral Occupational Observation Notes

Behaviors observed must be actions, not inferred moods, intent, or emotional states.

Behaviors noted should, when possible, refer to frequency, duration, or intensity.

Behaviors should be precise descriptions of actions or behavior.

Strategies for Developing Behavioral Occupational Observation Notes

When observations are planned, decide when and where the observation(s) will take place, how many observations will be done, and who will act as observer(s).

Select a note recording system (e.g., audio or video recording, desk or hand-held computer notes, handwritten notes).

Rating Scales Advantages:1. May provide assessment ratings for a variety

of employability behaviors in a variety of settings

2. May provide a one-time rating or provide a serial rating to show possible change in employability behavior(s)

3. Employability or vocational behaviors may be selected as appropriate for any one individual or for a group of individuals

Rating Scales

Advantages, cont’d.:

4. Removes student from a testing, interview, or paper/pencil format

5. Permits linking assessment to natural settings

Rating Scales

Disadvantages:

1. Tendency to have validity problems

2. Reliability may be affected by leniency, “halo” effect, cultural bias, rater mood, or recent events.

3. Difficult to develop quality rating scales (item wording and scaling)

Assessing Employability and Vocational Competence

Examples of Standardized Vocational Aptitude Scales

Ability Explorer APTICOM Armed Services Vocational

Aptitude Battery Career Ability Placement Survey Differential Aptitude Tests Occupational Aptitude Survey

(OASIS-3)

Examples of Standardized Employability Scales

Short Employment Tests Wonderlic Basic Skills Test Work Adjustment Scale

Examples of Mixed Non-standardizedOccupational/Employability Assessments

Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES)

Vocational Interest Temperament and Aptitude System (VITAS)

Environmental Job Assessment Measure (E-JAM)

LCCE Competency Assessment Performance Batteries

Workplace Educational Skills Analysis

Examples of Non-standardized Employability Scales

BRIGANCE® Employability Skills Inventory

Transition-to-Work Inventory Vocational Adaptation Rating Scales

Informal Assessment of Vocational and Employability

Skills

Situational assessment

Observation notes

Rating scales

Checklists

Employability and Vocational Situational Assessment

Advantages:

1. Permits data collection on a variety of behaviors

2. Is highly authentic assessment

3. Permits assessment to occur in the context of learning, working, social or leisure environments

Employability and Vocational Situational Assessment

Advantages, cont’d.:

4. Is more motivating for students than tests, surveys, interviews, etc.

5. May be ongoing for a period of time and increases reliability of assessment data

Employability and Vocational Situational Assessment

Disadvantages:1. Difficult to assess some behaviors

because of a lack of control over the situational environment

2. Observers/raters/evaluators cannot be in the situation at all times

3. Observers/raters/evaluators in the situation might change the situation by being there

Employability and Vocational Situational Assessment

Disadvantages, cont’d.:

4. Is time-consuming for student and assessment personnel

5. Requires coordination with a variety of persons/settings for it to work

6. Requires high degree of planning and monitoring

General Transition AssessmentInstruments that Include

Vocational/Occupational Assessment

Enderle-Severson Transition Rating

Scales LCCE Competency Assessment

Knowledge Batteries Transition Skills Inventory (TSI) Transition Behavior Scale (2/e) (TBS) Transition Planning Inventory (TPI-UV)