Athlete Assessments'

Independent Statistical Analysis

Assessment Reliability and Validity

Since the dawn of the internet, the ability to create, sell, and market assessments has become significantly easier and less expensive. A few common examples include personality, behavior, emotional intelligence, leadership, critical thinking, reliability, and so on! This means, finding the right assessment for you, your team, your class, or your organization that is both effective and reliable can seem like a daunting task. But we want to change that! 

At Athlete Assessments we live high-performance, and we think your assessments should too. So we’ve compiled some handy resources to help you make an informed decision when it comes to choosing an online assessment tool. 

So, what should you look for when choosing an assessment?

If we look at just one example of an assessment platform, the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) has its own Talent Assessment Center (TAC) for companies to purchase assessments. Within the TAC catalog there are 427 tests and assessments available for sale. More specifically, listed under just the category of ‘Personality’ assessments alone, there are 182. This is just one example of an assessment provider, and there are countless more.

But with assessments more available and abundant than ever, it’s important to understand how you can ensure you are using a reliable and validated tool. A recent study, currently in the process of being published, identified very few assessments have actually been independently assessed, and the vast majority of assessments being promoted lack this robust analysis. Additionally, of the minority that actually claimed reporting, a significant majority of those were conducted privately, often by the assessment provider itself, rather than through an objective and scientifically qualified third party.

Fortunately, numerous professional organizations have established standards for testing and assessments, the most commonly recognized are the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The only real way to judge the true quality of an assessment, is if it has been independently analyzed by a reputable expert. Not all assessment companies open themselves up for this level of scrutiny, but any assessment worth using will have been subjected to the rigors of ensuring that it does measure what it says it does, and does so reliably and effectively.

If you are using assessments, are you sure they meet these important standards?
Are they really to the quality that the person promoting them says they are?
Or did someone well-meaning just make them up?

If you are considering using assessments for the first time, this is critical to include in your decision making.
A simple test is to ask for the independent analysis by a reputable expert. If they don’t have it, you’d be wise to consider this seriously.

Athlete Assessments' DISC Profile Assessment Reliability and Validity

In July 2021, Athlete Assessments engaged the Assessment Standard Institute (ASI) to re-analyze the reliability and validity of our DISC Profile assessments, to ensure continued compliance with industry standards. 

We are proud to advise that ASI, through third-party evaluation, certifies Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiles meet or exceed generally accepted standards for Data Reliability and Construct Validity, as measured by accepted industry standards. 

AA_ASIJuly2021-Badge

You can download the independent reports provided by ASI towards the bottom of this webpage.

As important background, the ASI complies with the ‘Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing’ procedures manual. The ‘Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing’ were approved as American Psychological Association policy by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2013, and the ASI operate from the latest 2014 edition of the document. The Testing Standards are a product of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Published collaboratively by the three organizations since 1966, it represents the gold standard in guidance on testing in the United States, and in many other countries.

Additionally, ASI follow the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines. ANSI is a non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. Combined, these standards represent the highest quality standards ASI can apply to the rigorous statistical processes they employ.

As you will read in the downloadable reports below, Athlete Assessments’ results were investigated using the standards, guidelines, and processes recommended by these organizations, and the ASI team certify that our assessments meet or exceed their generally accepted standards.

Interested in more research using Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiles?

Research Findings:

The Use of DISC Behavioral Profiling in Sport Management & Coaching Higher Education to enhance learning and future career opportunities

Published 2022, by Elizabeth Masen, David Hedlund, & Jacob Tingle.

Research Findings:

The existence of autonomy-supportive coaching characteristics within the CoachDISC Profile for use in Coach Professional Development

Published 2021, by Jody Langdon, Diane Benish, and Elizabeth Masen

Download ASI Report Here

Fill out the form below to download a copy of Athlete Assessments' Independent Statistical Analysis for Assessment Reliability and Validity​ completed by the ASI, and we will be in touch shortly to follow up your enquiry.

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Bo Hanson

Senior Consultant & Director

Bo Hanson’s career within the sport and the business sector spans over 25 years, delivering leadership, management, and coach development. In addition to his own athletic career comprising of four Olympic appearances and including three Olympic medals, Bo has worked for many years with coaches and athletes from over 40 different sports across the globe. Bo was also the winner of the Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD) 2023 Award for L&D Professional of the Year, for his dedication to L&D and transformational work across various industries.

After a successful career in sport including four Olympics and three Olympic Medals, Bo co-founded and developed Athlete Assessments in 2007. Bo now focuses on working with clients to achieve their own success on and off ‘the field’, and has attained an unmatched track-record in doing exactly this.

Headshot Bo
BoRowing-Atlanta Olympics

Now, watch us interrupt him for a round of quick fire questions.