Singer Vocational Evaluation Systems in use in Nova Scotia create a simulated work setting with which the individual can readily identify and experience job tasks in a noncompetitive atmosphere. Work behavior and performance are evaluated to identify what individuals can and like to do. (JOW)

This paper addresses the theoretical and practical concerns of transition-related career assessment for adolescents with mild disabilities. It defines assessment terms and then discusses the applicability of prominent career theories. Primary career assessment areas that support the preparation of adolescents with mild disabilities are identified.…

This book summarizes the evaluation by the Committee on the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) of the National Research Council of the U.S. Employment Service's use of the GATB. The book serves professional users, policymakers, and students of psychometrics because of its clear and concise review of important issues. (SLD)

The gap between professionally and legally acceptable practice in professional licensure tests is addressed. Pertinent activities of the American Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association, and the National Council for Measurement in Education are discussed. (TJH)

Finds that Holland's Self-Directed Search--Form E was a feasible method of vocational assessment for 25 rural, learning disabled, secondary students when individual assistance was provided on request. Presents scores on six occupational environments and corresponding personality types, and relationships to students' reading level and measured…

Development of a methodology for translating a certification examination to another language for a small number of examinees is described. The Spanish translation developed for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners was pilot tested with four candidates. Linguistic and psychometric procedures of the translation are discussed.…

This paper reports on the development of the Audiovisual Vocational Preferences Test to facilitate career planning for adolescents and young adults with mild to moderate intellectual impairments. The strategies involved in test construction, data on initial use of the test, and improvements in format and content after pilot testing are discussed.…

Elementary performance tests and situational or simulation tests may be combined for comprehensive testing of open skills, i.e., a worker's competency in reacting to unpredictable situations. Elementary performance tests capture the professional skills whereas simulation tests retain realism and complexity and allow variation in responses.…

The most likely legal challenge to assessment centers is racial discrimination. Although validation studies have shown the assessment center to be job related and no equally effective alternative to be available, futher validation will be needed with each new application of assessment centers in certification and employment decisions. (MLF)

Israeli ninth-grade students (N=217) answered two interest inventories, one based on Holland's classification and one on Roe's classification. By means of a Smallest Space Analysis (SSA-I), a two-dimensional configuration was found. The findings indicate the possibility of incorporating results based on either classification. Some practical…

The widely divergent career options suggested to men and women by the Self-Directed Search (SDS) raw scores are noted and misunderstandings concerning the implications of Holland's assessment procedures for his theory are discussed. Holland's defense of raw score reports of personality characteristics is found wanting especially in light of the…

Describes the development of a behaviorally based performance appraisal system for assessing the performance of highway patrol personnel. The items in the present scale were developed to describe proficiency levels of specific job tasks. This characteristic is expected to enhance the objectivity of the evaluation system. (Author)

The author discusses several factors which have in the past decade made it difficult for school personnel directors to establish quality teacher selection procedures. He identifies some basic criteria and methods for the selection process, emphasizing direct observation of the candidate's teaching performance as a selection tool. (SJL)

In the typical career appraisal, the structure of client and counselor roles and the focus of the assessments and interpretation obstruct its intended purpose in four major ways: casting clients as subordinates, discounting self-assessment by favoring counselor assessments, de-emphasizing the influence of context, and focusing on a single choice.…

Inferential conditions in the statistical detection of measurement bias are discussed in the contexts of differential item functioning and predictive bias in educational and employment settings. It is concluded that bias measures that rely strictly on observed measures are not generally diagnostic of measurement bias or lack of bias. (SLD)