Do coaches need psychometrics and, if so, how do they go about choosing the right assessments for their clients and their brand? I’ll map how psychometrics developed, why coaching and psychometrics have always treated each other with suspicion and how that’s changing. I’ll suggest questions practical ways of sorting snake oil from true science in the testing area. I’ll also suggest what your assessment ‘tool kit’ should look like.
After a breakout, the second half will look at the future of testing, how a number of influences - digital tech and AI in particular – are already transforming the area and whether this will benefit you and their clients.
Session goals
Evolution of psychometric instruments
Understanding when, if and which, psychometric instrument to use
Additional resource
Ian has kindly provided us with a published article about the rigor that substantiates the science behind psychometric instruments. Read the article in full.
Ian Florance
Ian Florance studied at Leeds and Reading Universities in the UK. After a time in general publishing he spent two decades at NFER-NELSON, the leading UK supplier of psychometric tests as well as training and consultancy in the clinical, educational, and business markets. Ian was publishing, international and business director for the company. He established his own business, Only Connect, in 2002. This provides marketing, consultancy, coaching and product development services to test developers and publishers. He has written interviews with psychologists for over 20 years: they appear in The Psychologist, the British Psychological Society (BPS) journal. Ian qualified as a business coach with Meyler Campbell. He is an observer on the Board of Assessment of the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA) and is involved in revising its framework for test reviews. Ian joint-founded the European Test Publishers Group in1991. He is Executive Director of the group and is presently planning their 2024 conference in Bordeaux, France.
He co-edited with Professor Mary Watts two books on coaching for Taylor and Francis and Sage and has published a book on assessment in coaching for McGraw-Hill’s Coaching in Practice series. Outside this work, Ian is a poet, novelist and writes words for choral music.