What makes an assessment meaningful?

‘Assessments? Oh, you mean those reports. We file them there and never look at them'. This coffee chat was when I first realised the hours invested in report-writing was hardly as meaningful as I thought it was. As we continued chatting, it became clear that the reports were no doubt important. Reports are written statements of the professional’s insights and judgment, anchored in beneficence. They guide decisions from school placement to exam access arrangements to classroom adaptations/accommodations. However, importance doesn’t equate to relevance. Something important can still take a backseat (perhaps in the cold filing cabinets) when something more relevant is in the foreground. Do we have the manpower to do that? Do we have the budget? What about the other students, how does this impact them? These questions also weigh on decision-making, and for good reason.

Early career psychologists very quickly realise the complexity of systems our clients are in, and the limitations of the work we might set out to do. Have I met industry/organisational benchmarks? Yes. Does it seem satisfactory and meaningful? Yes… no…?

Meaningful goals

In therapy, we do not merely set goals but establish meaningful ones. We are careful to avoid setting ‘dead person’s goals’ such as not do X or not feel Y, or ‘insight goals’, i.e., to understand X. We want to consider what we would do differently, once we understand something about ourselves or our context. In the same vein, are we listening for a meaningful goal embedded in the narrative when we begin an assessment? 

Often, for young people, a professional working with the child (e.g., teacher, counsellor) might have recommended the assessment. Beyond asking the parent ‘what are the concerns?’, we could ask ‘what do you hope to achieve from this assessment?’ and listen.

Listen for something beyond the problem statement (e.g., ‘he is not focusing in school’) or a practical solution (e..g, ‘he needs extra time for exams’). Listen for what the child or parents are experiencing as a result of the problem. Listen for something beyond ‘I want to know if…’, listen and be curious what they do now without the insight and what they hope to do in future. For children and teens who have requested for an assessment, listen for how the information from the assessment might fit into the puzzle. What are they seeking? 

I remember cases where I have confused concerns and objectives, or assumed objectives based on the problem statements. I also remember the feeling of shame wash over me once when I was interrupted because I had assumed a diagnosis would be a meaningful goal. Bearing the wise words of Maya Angelou in mind, now that I know, I seek to do better. 

Meaningful analysis

Some psychologists find testing rote and boring. I find humans make the tests fascinating. The quantitative scores are only one piece of the puzzle. The person assessed manifests their unique individuality through their distinct approach to each task. Different tools might be designed to test for different processes, and the integration of different tools during the assessment might give hidden insights. An over-emphasis on scores might lead to us neglecting the effect of learning or the existence of coping or compensatory strategies and its downstream effects. If you ever had chronic pain, you might realise that the pain is the downstream effect of using one muscle-group to compensate for weakness in another muscle-group. Not having pain in the latter does not mean the weakness does not exist. Similarly, we might neglect very valuable information when we are not observing and analysing the child’s process and behaviours. 

The analysis is not only in the findings but also the summary/conclusion section. Sometimes, the summary/conclusion and recommendations sections might be the only sections the intended audience read. If I am undergoing an assessment, I would certainly appreciate a broader perspective of my strengths and my challenges, rather than a line which reduces all of me to a diagnosis.

Meaningful recommendations

The recommendations section should ideally close the loop. We should go back to the presenting concerns and brainstorm what might help based on the new insights we have about the child. The recommendations should be tailored to the child’s unique profile. Naturally, an in-depth analysis helps us to generate relevant strategies. It is worthwhile to envision the implementation of the strategy recommended and to give some practical adjustments or examples. At a buffet, we might have the desire to devour every delicious item but our gut might violently object. Similarly, it might be more meaningful to pace with the parents/child and prioritise the recommendations, rather than overwhelm them with a laundry list of strategies.