Steps for an Informal Assessment
Information may be gathered about client needs and interests by conducting a personal interview. Since personal interviews usually do not follow a predetermined set of questions, different information is often gathered with each interview, thus allowing for variations in the type of information collected from one client to another.
4-S Interview - When doing an assessment, look for information in the four basic areas.
How do the clients see themselves?
How important is work in their lives?
What else is important: family, religion, community, or leisure activities?
How do they feel about this change: emotionally, practically, intellectually?
Do they believe they can get through it?
Do they have self-defeating habits or attitudes?
Are they willing to change?
What else might you want to know?
What caused the situation?
Whom do they hold responsible?
What impact did this have on other plans?
Is it temporary or permanent?
What other stresses did they already have in their lives?
Have they dealt with other transitions or problems in their lives?
Did they deal successfully with those situations?
Can they find some positive aspects to this situation?
What kind of help do they have to get through these? Family? Friends?
Are these people providing positive feedback, encouragement?
How are other people reacting to this change?
Who's in their network to provide information, introductions, leads or other help?
What about financial help: unemployment insurance (UI), savings, spouse's income, other people? How long will that last?
What have they done so far?
What are their plans?
Do they have a long-range plan?
How are they approaching the job search?
Is it hit-and-miss or are they organized?
Do they want more training?
Can they explain how that will help?
Are they dealing with a problem or exploring an opportunity?
How are they handling stress; with exercise or other coping strategies?
Have they visualized a positive outcome?
Can they describe it?
What is the customer's demonstrated attitude toward work? Is the client able to operate independently? Is the client motivated and committed? Does he/she follow through with assignments? Are they punctual for appointments?
Information about past conditions and experiences should be examined to evaluate successes and failures and to identify possible patterns. Information from education and work experience records can provide valuable input about employee career needs and educational plans. Transferable skills are determined by comparing current skills against the requirements of other occupations.
Assists in identifying priorities, and it encompasses any activity that promotes self-examination.
Optional assessment tools (customer completed worksheets – see Links to Assessments and Worksheets on this page) were designed to gather assessment information from a fairly broad audience but may be customized to a particular group of individuals, setting or purpose. These informal worksheets are not tests – they should be used only as a means to collect data that can be used in the career planning process.
Service strategy tools (customer completed worksheets– see Links to Assessments and Worksheets on this page) were designed to support specific program activities and components. As with the assessment tools these worksheets are optional and may be customized to a particular individual, setting or purpose. Their purpose is to provide participants and case managers with a means to validate things like occupational choice, labor market realities, and wage rates.
A. Preparing for the Interpretation
Once familiar with the test, preparation involves two processes: gaining an understanding of the results and integrating this information with other knowledge about the client.
B. Preparing the Client for the Interpretation
First, establish rapport with the client by summarizing the previous session, describing the test or inventory they took, asking for their impressions of the test and then explaining the scoring system.
C. Delivery of the Interpretation
- When in the process of interpretation the following items are important:
- Keep the goals of the client in mind. Interpret the results in terms of the kinds of decisions clients must make.
Validity – A test is valid for some purpose if it actually measures the ability or trait that it is being used to measure. Validity isn't something that resides in the test but rather a characteristic of a particular use of a test.
Reliability – This refers to how well the scores represent what they are being used to measure, refers to accuracy and consistency of the measurement.
- It is not necessary to give clients exact scores or detailed technical information. The purpose of the interpretation is to transmit meaningful, useful information.
- Try to use language that will be easily understood and inoffensive to clients.
- Do not avoid low scores nor make low scores the center of interpretation.
- Get clients to talk about their level of performance and what it means to them. Many times you will find that the results are not a surprise but merely confirmation of what a client already knows or suspects. The question, “how do you feel about the results so far”, is a good approach and can be used several times during the interpretation.
- Emphasize that results are meant to help them focus on the career exploration process and should not be used for decision making.
D. Follow-up
A copy of the test results and brief notes as to what the client was told should be kept with the case file.
Narratives
The narratives screen lists eight different topics as addressed. These items are listed in alphabetical order, however when a case manager conducts an assessment they would not necessarily conduct the assessment in this order. Besides documenting the assessment within this section of IWDS, case notes can be used to assist in documenting portions of the assessment and should be used in documenting the time line of the training/employment plans/Individual Service Strategies.
As defined by Webster's New World English Dictionary, “aptitude” means the quality of being apt or appropriate; a natural tendency or inclination; a natural ability or talent; quickness to learn or understand.
A way to assess customer aptitudes is to ask him/her to describe their hobbies and talents. For example, “Let's talk about some of the activities you enjoy. Do you play sports? Which ones? Are you creative or artistic? In what ways? Have you ever had a job where you were responsible for handling money?”
Your assessment narrative should document the aptitude(s) with supporting evidence from the conversation. For example:
Customer demonstrates intelligence, verbal intelligence and numerical aptitudes, evidenced by her TABE scores of 12.4 in reading and 11.0 in math. She is spatial, as she designs “My Space” pages for all of her friends. She reported her typing speed at 45 WPM, indicating finger dexterity. Through her involvement in organized sports, specifically basketball and softball, customer has motor coordination and eye-hand-foot coordination.
Illinois workNet resources:
Assessments:
Skills and Interest Page (Individuals Pathway: Topic Area is Prepare)
SKILLS Profiler
Self-management skills list
Transferable skills list
Job/technical skills list
Basic Skills Page (Individuals Pathway: Topic Area is Learn)
Typing test
Activity:
Participants can complete the activities and save the responses within their account. Once they are saved, case managers can view the responses through the Illinois workNet customer groups tool. (Individuals Pathway: Topic Area is Prepare)
Identify Your Skills Activity
As defined by Webster's New World English Dictionary, a “barrier” means a thing that prevents passage or approach; obstruction; anything that holds apart, separates or hinders.
Identify barriers, real or potential, that might interfere with the customer's ability to work toward self-sufficiency. All clients will have barriers, for youth many will be common,
High School Dropout
Lacks High School Diploma/GED
Please refer to the IWDS application for the complete list of characteristics and barriers and mention those that apply to the customer in this narrative section.
Above and beyond the barriers listed in the IWDS application, dig deeper to find out about others.
Some potential questions: “Sometimes we have barriers inside of ourselves, and sometimes there are barriers outside of ourselves that interfere with us doing what we want to do or are supposed to do. What barriers can you think of that might get in the way of you completing your diploma/GED and moving on to your next steps after high school?”
Some youth are very verbal and aware of their barriers; others not so forthcoming. Barriers can range from basic to more complex, e.g., no alarm clock to wake up for school, no way to get to school, family obligations, lack of reliable child care, negative peer influences, depression, anxiety, drug use, etc. Try to probe further if your customer is not very forthcoming with information.
Sample narrative:
Customer is a high school dropout who lacks a diploma. She is also basic skills deficient in both reading and math, scoring 7.2 and 6.4, respectively, on the TABE. Customer is a parenting youth who relies on her grandmother to provide child care. Per customer's report, this arrangement can be unreliable, as grandmother has other obligations from time to time. At this time, customer has no back-up child care provider, so when grandmother is unavailable, youth has to stay home with her child. These barriers are not anticipated to keep customer from being successful, but they are likely to interfere with her rate of progress. Case manager will work with customer to identify back-up child care providers.
Illinois workNet resources:
Other Resources to assist with barriers:
Services Page (Individuals Pathway: Topic Area is Services/Tools):
Child Care
Health Services
Money Management
Public Assistance
Transportation Services, and more
Disability Pathway: Resources to assist adults and youth to go from disability benefits/school to work.
As defined by Webster's New World English Dictionary, a “behavior” means the way a person behaves or acts; conduct; or manners
First, what are your observations of the customer's behavior while you are meeting with him/her? Cooperative? Engaged? Apathetic? Shy? Withdrawn? Alert? Slacking? Making or avoiding eye contact?
In this area, the case manager is trying to assess how the customer will behave in a school setting, at a job, and in their life!
Clients usually struggle a bit with talking about themselves, so here are some questions you can ask to assess behavior:
1. How would you describe yourself, your actions?
2. How would your family describe you?
3. How would your friends describe you? What makes you a good friend?
4. Tell me about your personal qualities and characteristics. What things about yourself are you most proud?
5. What things about you do you wish were different, or better?
6. Tell me how you get along with people your own age.
7. Tell me how you get along with people in authority, like in a classroom or at a job.
8. Do you like to work by yourself or do you like to be part of a team?
9. Are there types of people you don't get along with? Explain.
10. Describe what you do in those situations where you don't get along with others.
Sample narrative:
Customer described himself as honest, reliable and dependable. He said his friends appreciate him because they know they can always come to him for help. Customer said his family would probably consider him to be a bum because he dropped out of high school, but he intends to prove them wrong by finishing school. In general, customer stated he gets along with most people but “can't stand ignorant people” and has no problem telling them so, regardless of their age or position in his life. He said he was once fired from a job for telling off a customer who “got in my face.” Customer acknowledged he needs to learn to “act right” in certain situations, such as a job.
Illinois workNet Resources:
Assessments:
Skills and Interest Page
Values: Work Importance Locator
Observational Assessment
Worksite Evaluation
Other Resources:
Workplace Skills
The case manager will gather work history to assess for employability, termination patterns, and to gauge customer interest for future employment. This assessment area can also contribute to the formulation of a master job application or a resume' in preparation for a job search.
Sample questions:
1. Tell me about any jobs you have had. Gather company name, full address, job title, duties, dates of employment, and hours per week, rate of pay, and reason for termination.
2. If you have not had a formal job, tell me about your volunteer or community service experiences. Gather same data as in #1 above.
3. Are you seeking employment right now? Tell me about your approach to looking for a job. What steps do you follow?
4. What type of work are you seeking? To where have you applied?
5. Is there any kind of work you won't do or are not able to do?
6. Do you have any limitation (physical, learning, etc.) that would keep you from doing certain kinds of work?
7. Do you need modifications at work in order to be successful (e.g., if learning disabled, might need instructions read to them vs. reading them on their own).
8. Is there a certain hourly rate you are seeking?
Sample narrative:
Customer has no formal work experience. He volunteers with his church and sings in the choir, which requires him to attend and be on time to rehearsals. He organized a food drive for the holiday season and supervised a team of 10 youth volunteers to collect and distribute food to those in need. Customer hurt his back playing football; he said his doctor gave him a restriction to not lift more than 10 pounds. Customer would like a job, but not until the summer, as he wants to enroll in school and accelerate his credits by also attending night school during the school year.
Illinois workNet resources:
Assessments:
Prepare For a Job (Individuals Pathway: Topic Area is Prepare):
30 Second Elevator Speech Worksheet
Activity: Introduction to Job Search Preparation and Resume Writing
Activity: Introduction to Job Searching and Applying for a Job
Job Search Record
Personal Information Worksheet
Personal Skills Checklist
Resume Checklist Packet
Other Resources:
Laid Off Worker Assistance Page: Step-by-step approach and tools for those who were laid off work
Key Sector Pathway: Career pathways, trends, and jobs growing in Illinois industries, and more.
In a first meeting, you are likely to elicit only the facts about the family. Most youth will not disclose family issues that s/he experiences as problematic. Most adults don't really care to air their dirty laundry until they get to know the case manager better. (Then watch out, you will get more than you want to know!)
Sample questions:
1. Tell me about your family. Who is in your family? Gather names, ages, relationships.
3. What is your family's reaction to you returning to high school? (You are trying to get at whether or not family is supportive or if they are critical/in disbelief about youth returning and completing school).
4. Are there any family obligations you have that might interfere with your ability to come to school regularly or to go to a job?
Sample narrative
Customer reported she is the eldest of three children at home, living with mother. When asked about her father, youth said only, “He doesn't live with us,” and did not elaborate, despite case manager's attempt to probe further. Customer said her mother does not believe she will finish high school and will probably end up pregnant first. Customer said that her dropping out created a big problem in her relationship with her mother, but she intends to prove her wrong about graduating from high school.
Family situation needs further assessment; will attempt to re-engage her further as customer/case manager relationship develops. Will also look for opportunities to engage mother regarding youth's progress in the program.
For this block there really isn't anything specified, but remembering per the Act, the things we are tasked with gathering during an assessment: participant's needs, strengths, support system, education, jobs skills, interests and career goals.
Looks like this “general” section would be a great place to address items that cannot be logically fit into one of other portions of the narrative section or any other items that you feel could be relevant and not appropriate for other sections.
Illinois workNet resources:
Assessment:
Activity: Find a Training Program
Activity: Set Your Goals and Make a Plan
This area captures the breadth and depth of a customer's interests. In order to get a well-rounded picture of the customer, it is suggested you ask:
1. Tell me what you like to do in your free time for fun? Does the customer have positive outlets in his/her free time or is there a lack of same? Does the customer convey enthusiasm while talking about his/her interests?
2. What kinds of things are you curious about and would like to try or know more about?
3. Switching gears, let's talk about your interests with regard to your future; your life after high school. What are you thinking about in terms of a career, more schooling?
Sample narrative
Customer likes to play video games with friends; reads novels; writes song lyrics/raps; makes “public art,” and was once arrested for same. By and large, customer has a diverse, positive set of interests. Case manager will look for outlets for customer to legally express artistic talents.
With regard to his future, customer says he would like to go to college because he knows he'll get a better paying job that way, but at age 17, he is not sure what to study. He is interested in the music industry but has never researched any of the careers within the industry or the education required for those careers. Will engage customer around his career interest and will teach him the process to research careers and colleges.
Illinois workNet resources:
Assessments:
Skills and Interest Page (Individuals Pathway: Topic Area is Prepare)
Career Cluster Inventory
Interest Profiler
Job/technical skills list
O*Net
Self-management skills list
SKILLS Profiler
Transferable skills list
Values: Work Importance Locator
Workplace Skills
In this area of assessment, elicit the customer's skills and describe how they were acquired. In the narrative, be sure to include TABE scores to describe reading and math skills.
1. Assess for “hard” skills by way of asking about past jobs, unpaid work experiences, hobbies or work performed at home. Anecdotally, the range of skills our youth possess can include but not be limited to:
Cash handling
Child care
Event planning
Computer proficiency, i.e., Microsoft Word, Excel
Typing. Record WPM if known.
Office skills: filing, answering phones
Managing/leading/organizing (many of our gang involved youth have these skills)
Ability to speak/read/write a 2nd language
2. Assess for “soft” skills, e.g., relational skills, demonstrates punctuality, knows how to dress for interviews, etc.
Sample narrative
In her role of caring for younger siblings, customer has child care skills, meal planning skills, and time management skills. She worked as a cashier at ABC Clothing and has both cash handling and customer service skills. She is completely fluent in Spanish.
Customer stated she has the ability to get along with all types of people. Based on her outfit today during our interview, customer might need some coaching about appropriate styles of dress for the workplace.
Illinois workNet resources:
Assessments
Basic Skills Page: Typing Test, math, and more.
Computer Skills Page: Computer Skills Self-Assessment
NOCTI 21st Century Skills Assessment
Observational Assessment
Worksite Evaluation
Tests:
The test screen contains a list of all the test results that have been associated with this application. A case manager can always add new test results.
Employment Goals:
The employment goal segment is designed to record desired employment target wage level per period (hour, day, week, month or year), target kind of work (permanent or temporary), target type of work (full or part-time), target shifts (days, afternoons, evenings, rotating or split), acceptable commuting distance from a specified Zip Code and a willingness to relocate.
Illinois workNet resources:
Activity; Introduction to Exploring Careers and Training
Activity: Set Your Goals and Make a Plan
Income and Expense Worksheets:
The income and expenses screen is designed to assist the customer and case manager in evaluating the customer's ability to support him or herself and their family if they were to enter a training program. This screen allows the case manager and customer to work together in recording various types of monthly income as well as typical monthly expenses for the applicant. When the Calculate Totals button is selected, IWDS sums the projected income and expenses and calculates the expected net income or shortfall in income.
Illinois workNet resources:
Activity: Manage Your Money