The Testing the Test Section of the Journal of Counseling & Development: Historical, Contemporary, and Future Perspectives

Abstract

This article examines the Testing the Test (TESTING) section of this journal and considers its past, present, and future. Also, to provide the reader with a reference sourceabout TESTING, all contributions to the section have been organized and placed in tabular form.

Thinking About “Tests and Assessment” and the Career Beliefs Inventory

“…Without question, this section of JCD has a long, interesting history and remains a vital part of this journal. Earlier, I (Watkins, 1990) provided you with a list of all of the individuals who had contributed to "Tests" since its inception in 1959-the year of their contributions, the nature of their contributions, and the places where readers could locate their articles in JCD. Table 1 complements that earlier list, identifying those individuals who have more recently (from September 1990 through August 1993) contributed to "Tests"-indicating the nature of their contributions, the year of their contributions, and the places where such articles can be located (by volume and page numbers) in JCD.…”

“…The current list, together with the earlier one, provides readers with a reference resource, which includes all contributions that have appeared in "Tests" from September 1959 through August of 1993. Such a reference resource might prove useful to both counselors and counselor trainers by (a) allowing them quickly and easily to identify some of the most recent counseling-relevant assessment materials that appear in the counseling literature and (b) providing them with a complete historical record of these articles for the past 34 years (see Watkins, 1990Watkins, , for coverage of 1959Watkins, to 1990.…”

Choosing Outcome Assessment Devices: An Organizational and Conceptual Scheme

“…We wish to discuss assessment from the perspective of outcome research. Watkins's (1990) review of the "Tests and Assessment" section of this journal was enlightening because it revealed that no articles specifically addressing the issues of assessment in outcome research have appeared in these pages. Although substantive efforts have been published elsewhere (e.g., Gelso, 1979), there is need for an essay to delineate clearly the issues and to offer an integrating conceptual scheme.…”

Section Editor's Note

“…In this brief note, I want to (a) address a potentially confusing issue about the Tests and Assessment (Tests) section that has recently been brought to my attention and (b) introduce the two sets of articles that follow. In reference to the former, I (Watkins, 1990) previously indicated that Tests would be composed of invited papers during my editorial term. But this does not then mean that unsolicited, uninvited assessment papers have no place in the Journal of Counseling & Development (JCD) over the next 3 years (the period of my term).…”