Tests and Counseling: The Marriage That Failed

Abstract

Tests on the whole have made very limited contributions to counseling, certainly far below their promise. Several reasons for this failure are suggested in this article. First, most tests were developed initially for selection purposes, and they did prove their value in many applications in industry, the military, and in colleges and schools. However, the usual levels of predictive validity that are sufficient to contribute to selection situations are too low to make a meaningful contribution to counseling situations. Second, the special environmental handicaps suffered by the disadvantaged make tests even less useful with those populations. Finally, few counselors have brought to testing the necessary knowledge and skills and, therefore, have not derived from tests even the limited values that are possible. Suggestions for change include development of new kinds of tests, higher standards for both tests and test users, and collaboration by test authors, publishers, and counselors within AMEG in an effort to prevent a complete dissolution of the marriage between tests and the counseling process.