1. AGE APPROPRIATE TRANSITION ASSESSMENT: A Tool for Helping Keep Youth in school Larry Kortering & Pat Braziel Korteringlj@appstate.edu

2. WHY DO AN AGE APPROPRIATE TRANSITION ASSESSMENT Efficient process that is predictive Great way to develop rapport w/ students Students enjoy it Generates useful and relevant information Legally required in meeting the requirements of Indicator 13 (see www.nsttac.org) Helps you understand the student in a new way

3. AREAS OF ASSESSMENT INFORMATION (Where can you get the information?) Achievement and Mental Ability scores from the student’s current psychological report (for general education students you can use other indices) Paper/pencil tests in the areas of interests, personality or values, career readiness, work adjustment, and aptitude Physical functioning (observation or tested) Family and student background (interview or survey) Job Samplings Work Site Evaluations

4. VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT: + and - Efficient process in terms of time and $$ (cheap) Fairly predictive Fosters self-understanding Means for developing rapport Non-academic focus The right instruments are reliable and valid Students love it Indicator 13 requires it Snapshot of reality Requires training and experience for proper interpretation Requires a conceptual understanding of career development Norms are often dated and statistical properties are suspect for some instruments Many instruments promise to provide data on everything in a short time (think diet pills)

5. CHALLENGES YOU WILL ENCOUNTER WHEN USING VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENTS Response sets (e.g., flat score or other unique response patterns) Youth’s with little or now world of work knowledge or experience which affects scores Interests are the least stable of measures, yet the most often measured Impact of limited access to role models Impact of their handicap Impact of one’s gender and culture Matching results to actual programs The issue of self-reported vs. performance measures Emerging sources of influence include television and the internet

6. RECOMMENDED LEVEL ONE TESTS General interview or survey about school, interests, work history and family jobs Student Style Questionnaire (Psychological Corporation in San Antonio, TX) Self-Directed Search Forms Explorer, E, and R (several vendors) Transition Planning Inventory (Pro Ed in Austin, TX) Some measure of actual talents or aptitudes Information from current psychological report (e.g., IQ and achievement scores)

7. TRANSITION ASSESSMENT GUIDE PROVIDING BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ASSESSMENT PROVIDING ‘JUST IN TIME’ ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND INFORMATION PROVIDING SAMPLE ASSESSMENT TOOLS GETTING FEEDBACK ON HOW TO DO IT BETTER

8. CONTACT INFORMATION WWW.NSTTAC.ORG (sign up for NSTTAC Notes) WWW.NSTTAC.ORG Larry Kortering (korteringlj@appstate.edu)korteringlj@appstate.edu Patricia Braziel (brazielp@earthlink.net)