Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges

Introduction

To successfully make the transition from school to adult life and the world of work, adolescents and young adults need guidance and encouragement from caring, supportive adults. The best decisions and choices made by transitioning youth are based on sound information including appropriate assessments that focus on the talents, knowledge, skills, interests, values, and aptitudes of each individual. This guide serves as a resource for multiple audiences within the workforce development system. Youth service professionals will find information on selecting career-related assessments, determining when to refer youth for additional assessment, and additional issues such as accommodations, legal issues, and ethical considerations. Administrators and policymakers will find information on developing practical and effective policies, collaboration among programs, and interagency assessment systems.

MS Word versions of the Assessment Guide and sample forms listed below are designed specifically for those visitors using screen readers and/or braille translators. Phrases such as "pullout" and "sidebar" will be used throughout the Word documents to give readers with low vision and/or blindness a better understanding of how the text is laid out in the PDF version (with complete graphics). In addition, tables and charts within the documents will be reformatted for clarity.

Download The Complete Guide

Download the entire Assessment Guide in PDF* (140 pages/669KB) or read the guide in MS Word.
*Please note: This is a large document, download time will be longer for users with slower connections.

Download Sections & Forms

Each of the four chapters and the accompanying exhibits can be separately downloaded below in PDF or MS Word. Also available individually are the sample forms from the Assessment Guide.

Sections

• Cover, Acknowledgements, Purpose of this Guide, How to Use this Guide, Table of Contents & Appendices
  View cover & table of contents in PDF (15 pages) or view cover & table of contents in MS Word.
• Chapter 1: Understanding the Terrain of Assessment
  Exhibits: Sample Release of Records Form, Compiling Personal Transition Data
  View chapter 1 with exhibits in PDF (23 pages) or view chapter 1 in MS Word.
• Chapter 2: The Dynamics of Disabilities
  Exhibit: Learning Needs Screening Tool
  View chapter 2 with exhibits in PDF (21 pages) or view chapter 2 in MS Word.
• Chapter 3: Selecting & Using Assessments
  Exhibit: Directory of Commonly Used Published Tests
  View chapter 3 with exhibits in PDF (63 pages) or view chapter 3 in MS Word.
• Chapter 4: The Organizational Perspective
  Exhibits: Assessment Resource Mapping, Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education, Code of Professional Ethics & Practices, Family Educational Rights & Privacy Acts (FERPA), The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, and Sample Inter-Agency Data-Sharing Agreement
  View chapter 4 with exhibits in PDF (30 pages) or view chapter 4 in MS Word.

Mini Papers

• Directory of Commonly Used Published Tests
  View Directory of Commonly Used Published Tests in PDF (56 pages) or view Directory of Commonly Used Published Tests in MS Word.
• Vocational Assessment and Its Role in Career Planning
  View Vocational Assessment and Its Role in Career Planning in PDF (12 pages) or view Vocational Assessment and Its Role in Career Planning in MS Word.

Sample Forms

These following samples from the Assessment Guide can be downloaded and customized to meet your needs.

• Release of Records Form in PDF or MS Word version of Records form,
• Personal Transition Data Form in PDF or MS Word version of Transition Data form,
• Resource Mapping Environmental Scan Tool in PDF or MS Word version of Environmental Scan form,
• Interagency Data-Sharing Agreement in PDF or MS Word version of Agreement,
• Learning Needs Screening Tool in PDF or MS Word version of Learning Needs form.
  NOTE: This tool should not be altered.  Doing so would affect its validity.
  • Sample Release of Records Form or Sample Release of Records Form
  • Compiling Personal Transition Data or Compiling Personal Transition Data
  • Assessment Resource Mapping or Assessment Resource Mapping
  • Sample Inter-Agency Data Sharing Agreement or Sample Inter-Agency Data Sharing Agreement
  
  Download all forms in one document or download all forms in one document.

Quick Takes (Tools and Resources)

• Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education or Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education
• Code of Professional Ethics and Practices or Code of Professional Ethics and Practices
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• Assessments and Federal Laws or Assessments and Federal Laws
• Glossary of Terms Related to Assessment or Glossary of Terms Related to Assessment

Download all Tools and Resources as in one document or download all Tools and Resources in one document