Assessment of Competence

The Ultimate Frontier for

Improving Professional Competence
 WORKGROUP MEMBERS

Martha Dennis Christiansen, Leader  

Michael C. Roberts, Recorder
Kathi Borden, Steering Committee Representative
Cynthia Belar, Lorraine Breault, Henry
Edwards, Laura Hernandez Guzman, Robert
Klepac, Shane Lopez, Asher Pacht, Lynn
Rehm, I. Leon Smith, D. Gant Ward.
 WORKGROUP CHARGE

“To focus on the assessment of

competencies across domains, and to
generate an effective plan or set of
plans by which to assess the
attainment of overall competence in
professional psychology.”
 
 
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

1. A developmental perspective
underlies all assessment of
competencies.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

2. Multicultural considerations are

required at all levels of competence
assessment. There is a need to attend
to both the cultural aspects of
competence assessment as well
as assessment of cultural
competence.
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

3. The minimum level of competence

needs to be defined for the
“threshold” of basic competence to
function professionally as well as the
aspirational levels of advanced
competence.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

4. Assessment of competence should

involve a combination of
compensatory and
non-compensatory models.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

5. Both formative assessment (e.g.,

while still in training and progressing
through program or for continual
career improvement) and
summative assessment (e.g., for
licensure) are needed in professional
psychology.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

6. Assessment of competence practices

during training should model how
professionals should continue
assessment of competencies throughout
one’s career.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

7. Assessment of competence should

involve multivariate/multidimensional
and multi-method input including
multiple perspectives at all levels of
professional development.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

8. Assessment of competence will

require a “culture shift” in trainers,
trainees, and professionals.
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
OF COMPETENCE

9. Competency based evaluation should

include measurable indicators of
behaviors, skills, and attitudes/values.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT OF
COMPETENCE

10. Skills assessment needs to be

done in an integrative approach
not just a set of competencies
 
 
singly assessed.
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT OF
COMPETENCE

11. Skill is best evaluated by a sampling

of behaviors (e.g., through direct
evaluation / observation) through multiple
perspectives including “experts,” peers,
self, clients, community members.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

“Information management and evaluation

of the nature and quality of information”
needs to be added to the “Big 8” content
areas of competence.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Knowledge is more easily assessed, but

more attention should be given by the
psychology profession to developing
appropriate assessment of attitudes and
values as well as skills.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Personal suitability or fitness to the

profession should be considered as a new
content area of competence (some
elements are trainable and others are
more inherent, e.g., interpersonal skills
and relationship building).
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATION

“ Professional values” and attitudes need to

be better articulated and clarified by the
profession in order to assist in the
assessment process of competence. Once
clarified into tangible language,
assessment tools will need to be developed
for evaluating competencies at all levels.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

The culture shift to more institutionalized

assessment of competence needs to be
infused throughout all aspects of
professional psychology.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Assessment “tools” (devices and
procedures) must be developed that meet
current and evolving standards of validity,
reliability, and fairness with consistency
across tools, e.g., improvement of
supervisor evaluation methods and a cost-
efficient methodology for assessment
through simulation.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Additional research attention needs to

be given to “self-assessment” as a
continual and developmental process.
Funding will be needed to develop
and standardize effective assessment
tools.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

A new conference on competency-based

assessment could be developed by the
training councils and coordinated with
the Education Directorate.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
The training councils (specifically the
multiple graduate training councils and
APPIC) could work together to develop
better formative and summative
assessment models and specific
procedures.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

The Education Directorate/Executive

Director could include “assessment of
competence” as a topic for further work
in the Educational Leadership
Conference.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

The training councils could be invited to

join in publishing a new journal (perhaps
electronic/web-based) devoted to issues of
professional training, including
assessment of competence.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Produce a “best practices” or
“promising practices” book (or
website) which includes published tools
and procedures for competencies
assessment within training programs at
different levels.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

A special issue of the journal,

Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, could be published on the
topic of Assessment of Competence in
Professional Psychology.
 IN CONCLUSION

Improved understanding and

methodology of assessment of
competencies will increase accountability:

to ourselves as professionals;
to our students and supervisees;
to our professional institutions;
to our public and communities.