This post is a follow-up to our original announcement, on May 30, 2012, about Adaptive Testing.
Beginning July 21, 2012, Everything DiSC assessments will use Adaptive Testing (AT) and a new, more sophisticated scoring algorithm to give participants the most precise DiSC® style assignment possible.
AT is more aligned with contemporary psychological testing—it’s frequently used in aptitude tests, so you may be familiar with the AT assessment method. With AT, respondents are presented with questions and their responses determine the next questions they’re given.
How is the Everything DiSC® AT assessment better than the 79-item assessment?
In addition to thorough beta testing of the Everything DiSC® AT measurement, we hired two independent agencies to perform multiple rounds of analysis focused on construct validity. Two of the most well-respected academic assessments in the psychological community were used to establish construct validity of the Everything DiSC AT assessment: NEO PI-R™ and 16PF®. The agencies also compared the construct validity of the Everything DiSC AT assessment to the Everything DiSC 79-item assessment and the DiSC Classic 28-item assessment.
Here’s what we learned:
- People who responded inconsistently averaged 35% improvement on scale reliability
- The AT measurement is 12% more accurate than the 79-item assessment
- The AT measurement is 32% more accurate than DiSC® Classic
Will the Everything DiSC® Profiles change?
The only profiles that will be different on July 21 are the Everything DiSC® Supplements for Facilitators. The adaptive testing data allows us to include additional information to help the facilitator better understand when participants have atypical profile results.
The Everything DiSC Supplement for Facilitators will now include an “umbrella graph” (left) that is used to calculate DiSC style and dot placement. Two other new graphs (below) show scores on the Priority Subscales for the eight priorities (subscales) specific to the Everything DiSC product taken.
Everything DiSC Priority Subscales
These subscales indicate whether the respondent has any extra priorities. While the majority of respondents will still have only three priorities, our improved measurement allows us to show up to two extra priorities. The extra priorities will be shown using advanced shading. In the examples below, there are four priorities: the three typically associated with the i style (Action, Enthusiasm, and Collaboration) as well as one extra priority (Results) shown by the striped shading on the circular map.
Also, since participants will be responding to product-specific questions, a unique Supplement for Facilitators will be generated for each Everything DiSC product using data and priorities specific to the product. So, it’s possible to have a high priority subscale in one product but not another, depending on the responses to the application-specific questions. Otherwise, nothing will change in the profiles at this time—more data means a participant’s dot placement will become even more precise, though this isn’t something the average participant will notice.
Please refer to these two documents for more information:
Everything DiSC Research Report for Adaptive Testing Assessment
Everything DiSC Adaptive Testing Information and FAQ’s
