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  2. Employment & Training
  3. Partners
  4. WIOA Title I-A & I-B
  5. Policy & Procedure Manual
  6. Assessment Guidance


WIOA Title I-A & I-B Policy & Procedure Manual



Assessment Guidance

Assessment is a systematic approach to gathering information about the participant’s strengths and assets, needs and challenges, interests, and goals. This information, in turn, guides the development of the participant’s individual employment plan (IEP) and all other case management activities. As such, assessment is considered the foundation of effective case management. Career planners must understand and use the various assessments available, interpret the results of multiple assessments, and translate the information obtained through the assessment process into a plan of action.1

Career planners should understand which assessments will most effectively address different customer situations. This will often depend upon the background and characteristics of individual participants, that is, on factors such as their educational attainment, life, and work experience (including volunteer or extracurricular pursuits), and whether or not their existing skills and competencies are still in demand in their regional economy.2

The purpose of assessments is to help identify the participant's employment goals and service needs. Using multiple assessments to measure skills, abilities, and other job-relevant characteristics contributes to "whole person assessment," which provides a solid basis for individuals to make important career development decisions. Using more information about an individual enables the job seeker and potential employers to get a more valid, fair, and complete picture of the individual's skills and strengths and, therefore, to make better career, workforce investment, and employment decisions. To get the best results, career planners need to select the appropriate instruments for use with specific participants based on their characteristics, such as educational attainment, work experience, and career goals.3

There are four main objectives for the use of assessments within the workforce system:

  1. exploring career options and person-career matches to ensure that individuals undertake skills preparation that is suited to their existing level of readiness, as well as their aptitudes, abilities, and informed career goals;
  2. identifying barriers and/or skills gaps and education needs to ensure that individuals develop the skills and competencies that are in demand by high-growth businesses and industries;
  3. referring qualified candidates to available job openings;
    and
  4. promoting the attainment of industry-recognized credentials to ensure that candidates referred to business and industry partners are qualified for those positions.4

The following guidelines outline the foundation for conducting productive, high-quality assessments:

  • Use a comprehensive and exploratory approach, providing both informal and formal assessments.
    • Informal assessments are not standardized and may include observations, in-depth interviews, and reviewing participant statements.
    • Formalized assessments, on the other hand, are standardized tests designed to compare participants' scores based on each assessment's standard. They are instrumental when you need to measure and compare specific skills or abilities.
  • Make assessments an ongoing process, allowing multiple opportunities to reassess progress and barriers:
    • At intake, career planners provide preliminary assessments and interviews to get to know the participants and identify their needs.
    • During program participation, gauge success and adjust as necessary.
    • Approaching exit, as services wind down – summarizing achievements/outcomes and evaluating for any other service needs.
  • Use assessment tools that are known to produce valid and reliable results.5

Initial Assessment Examples

Career planners can capture the Initial Assessment details via informal assessment tools. Things to consider include:

  • Prior work and life experiences:
    • Titles
    • Dates of employment
    • Responsibilities
    • Skills
    • Accomplishments
  • Soft skills:
    • How well one can work and interact with others. These are difficult to learn and applicable across industries and to any profession: communication and teamwork.
  • Technical skills
    • Programming and Software proficiency
    • Project management
    • Data analysis
  • Transferable skills:
    • Communication
    • Problem-solving
    • Time management
    • Decision making

Comprehensive and Specialized Assessment Examples

Comprehensive and Specialized Assessments are tools that career planners can use to help individuals bridge the skills and/or needs gap that may keep them from obtaining high-growth jobs. Career planners can capture the Comprehensive Assessment details via informal and formal assessment tools.

Assessments to consider providing for participants include, but are not limited to:

  • Basic skills and English Language Acquisition assessments, which capture additional skill levels. The higher the participant's level of education and the more recently it was completed, the less likely it is that an individual will need this assessment.6 These assessments are given to determine if the participant has the skills or qualifications to participate in selected training programs successfully.7
    • Sample assessments include:
      • TABE
      • CASAS
      • ACCUPLACER
      • AAB
  • Interest assessments and work values that align participants' interests (likes and dislikes of various activities) with selected occupations and employer needs, including interests in Non-Traditional occupations. These are suited for participants who may be unsure of what careers to pursue. They are also relevant for those who are considering a career change.8
    • Sample assessments include:
      • CareerOneStop9
      • Career Cruising
      • MY NEXT MOVE
      • O*NET Interest Profiler
      • O*NET Work Importance Locator;
  • Skill assessments measure how well an individual performs particular skills.
    • Sample assessments include:
      • My Skills My future | CareerOneStop;
  • Occupation-specific assessments. Job Fit Reviews in CEPT(or other approved format) - Identify participants' strengths and areas for improvement for selected occupational goals. Results aid in the development of the participant's Individual Employment Plan (IEP);
  • In-depth interviews and evaluations to identify employment barriers and appropriate employment goals.10 Interviews help the career planner understand the customer’s current situation, immediate needs, goals, strengths, and challenges. The use of the following methods can increase the effectiveness of interviewing:
    • Ask open-ended questions. Engage the customer in a conversation and invite him or her to share more information by asking questions that can’t be answered with just a simple "yes" or "no".
    • Probing. Ask questions designed to gather additional information about a topic or to follow up on customer statements.
    • Avoid judgments. Refrain from expressing judgment (verbally or nonverbally) during interviews and adopt a nonjudgmental attitude.
    • Being sensitive to body language. Be sensitive to the customer’s nonverbal responses as a complement to carefully listening to what the customer actually says.11
  • Questions to ask to determine their current skills and aptitudes:
    • What is the participant’s current skill set?
    • How could those skills translate into other jobs?
    • What are the participant’s career interests?
    • What are the skills gaps and developmental needs?
  • Sample discussion includes:
    • Occupational Skills - align the participant's skills with opportunities within the local workforce system. Examples include:
      • work and life experience;
      • technical and soft skills;
      • transferable skills that the participant can use in any occupation without much effort and for which no training is needed;
      • training certificates;
        and
      • educational records.
    • Employment Barriers -
      • Potential service needs include but are not limited to referrals, group or individual counseling, short-term pre-vocational services, workforce preparation activities, financial literacy services, resume development, job search services, and supportive services;
    • Digital literacy skills are the skills associated with using technology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information. As more jobs require resilience and access to reliable infrastructure, jobseekers, workers, and learners who lack these skills are disadvantaged in both securing and retaining employment opportunities.12
      • Sample questions for informal assessment include:
        • Do you have a cell phone?
        • How often do you check text messages? Voicemail?
        • Do you have a computer?
        • How often do you check emails?
        • Do you have internet access? How reliable is your access?
        • How do you like to receive information?
        • Are you familiar with navigating the internet and using a search engine to find an answer to a question?
        • Can you create and edit documents?
        • Formal assessment example: NorthStar Digital Literacy Assessment
    • Financial Resources and Needs – to help the participant gain knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed financial decisions that enable them to attain greater financial health and stability. Sample questions include:
      • Do you have a checking and savings account?
      • Do you know about credit reports and their significance?
      • Do you know how to protect yourself from identity theft?

Career planners identify service needs, including supportive services, when reviewing assessments, participant statements, and income documentation. Although participants may believe they do not need supportive services, their current situations may change. Potential needs identified during the comprehensive assessment (recorded in ASSET Assessments) may reduce future IEP review efforts.

Some examples of potential participant supportive service needs include:

  • Transportation assistance - Even if participants have a car, they may benefit from vehicle repairs, driver's license fees, parking reimbursements, etc.;
  • Childcare assistance - Even if participants have a current provider, they may benefit from additional support;
    and
  • Training assistance- Even if participants feel they are fully ready for training, checking if they need textbooks, course materials, fees, laptops, work boots, etc., may be beneficial.

Some employers and counselors use personality inventories to learn about an individual's personal, emotional, and social traits and behaviors. Personality assessments designed for use in employment settings evaluate such characteristics as motivation, conscientiousness, self-confidence, and how well an employee might get along with co-workers.

Research has shown that personality tests, in conjunction with other assessments, can be helpful in career guidance and for some training and development programs. For example, if a client is considering a career in customer service, a personality inventory that includes a measure of introversion/extroversion can provide helpful information about that individual's suitability for working with people. A personality inventory that assesses leadership potential might be used to select individuals for a career development program in a managerial track.

Personality tests fall into two general categories: vocational and clinical instruments.13

Vocationally oriented instruments ask clients to check off or rate items that best describe themselves. These may be used to evaluate such characteristics as motivation, conscientiousness, self-confidence, or how well an individual might get along with co-workers.14

Clinical instruments are designed to screen for psychopathology. They can be either general purpose measures that produce scores on several scales or they can be specific purpose measures that screen for narrow types of pathology such as depression or eating disorders.

Clinical instruments are usually not appropriate for career counseling or development because they have been devised to detect psychopathology, not to assess job-relevant characteristics.15

Participants may consider these tests an invasion of privacy as they ask personal questions that are not directly relevant to job or training performance.16

For additional guidance, see the resource box: Testing and Assessment: A Guide to Good Practices for Workforce Investment Professionals for additional guidance.



Case Management

Case management is broadly defined as one-on-one assistance or individual counseling focused on providing support and information to assist individuals with immediate and long-term goal achievement. Case management delivery will vary and is tailored to meet the needs of each participant.

WIOA: A Research Evidence Scan of Key Strategies Related to WIOA (dol.gov)



Formal and Informal Assessments

Formal Assessments are:

  • Standardized Instruments;
  • Tested for reliability and validity;
  • Scores can be compared across populations;
    and
  • Have set guidelines for administering, scoring, and interpreting.

Examples may include:

  • Achievement Tests
  • Intelligence Tests
  • Interest inventories
  • Aptitude Test

Informal Assessments are:

  • Not standardized
  • Lack of formal reliability and validity measures
  • No comparison with others

Examples may include:

  • Interviews (in-depth)
  • Questionnaires (enrollment forms)
  • Observations
  • Evaluations
  • Surveys

Formal and Informal Assessments – Maryland State Department of Education (marylandpublicschools.org)



Transferrable Skills

Transferrable skills are any skills acquired during any activity– previous jobs, military experience, education/training, projects, parenting, volunteer work, hobbies, etc. – which may be relevant and transferrable for use in a new job. While the primary focus is generally on skills garnered during past employment, other life experiences may also be pertinent and should be considered. There is no time limitation for the currency of educational or work skills, and they do not expire after a set number of years. It is essential to take a realistic view of the participant's skills and determine whether they may be relevant to today's labor market positions, even if a refresher may be needed.

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Handbook | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)



Psychopathology

Psychopathology is the study of psychological and behavioral dysfunction occurring in mental illness or in social disorganization.

Psychopathology Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster