The 7 types of self-assessment (how they work and their characteristics)

Self-assessments are techniques that help us to have a better understanding of ourselves.. They can be done at practically any time and can address a wide variety of topics.

Whether from the field of education, through psychodiagnosis and reaching the world of organizations, self-assessments allow us to acquire a better knowledge of ourselves.

In this article we are going to talk about the types of self-assessments, both taking into account their scope of application and the format in which they are presented. In addition, we are going to do a quick review of what they consist of and what their purpose is.

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What is self-assessment?

Self-assessments are methods that allow us to have a better knowledge of ourselves, either by addressing aspects more related to our physical and mental abilities or dealing with issues such as our emotions or state of health.

The main peculiarity of self-assessments is that we are the ones who administer them to ourselves.

. In other types of assessments, such as hetero-assessments and peer-assessments, it is another person or a group of them who administer a questionnaire or carry out some type of analysis of a person in concrete.

Since self-assessments can be applied in multiple ways, there are several tools that allow them to be carried out.

For them to be useful, It is necessary to be honest when answering them and carry out a deep self-reflection to be able to detect those strengths and weaknesses that we may have or, in case you are talking about health problems, to know if you are really behind something serious.

What purpose do they have?

Self-assessments are highly used in daily life. Situations as simple and mundane as answering a test at the driving school, asking review questions for an exam or to analyze the pros and cons of continuing with the couple would be examples of self-assessments.

Depending on the area in which the self-assessment is being carried out, we can talk about different purposes:

1. Education

In the educational field they are widely used to know what level one has on a certain subject or to what extent the knowledge given in the classroom has been established.

If they are carried out before taking an exam or trying to answer an exercise, they allow us to know what knowledge needs to be improved and focus the rest of the study on them.

Teachers can benefit from this resource since it allows them to know where they fail when explaining the content. It is also useful for them to put them as homework for their students because that way they can have a general idea of ​​how the class is going and, specifically, which students are having the most difficulties.

2. Job

Self-assessment in the workplace can help you thrive in the profession.

There are many companies that ask their employees to do this type of evaluation, in order to find out What are the possible problems that there are when carrying out their tasks and see how they can be sort out.

Self-assessments allow us to know if we are being efficient enough or, also, allow us to improve our abilities to focus on receiving a promotion. Evaluating how efficient we are allows us to motivate ourselves, have better self-control and solve what is necessary.

This type of tool is very useful for employees who have been in the same job for a long time since, over the years, after see that one defends himself quite well in the work he does, he runs the risk of not going for more, stagnating and getting stuck in the zone of comfort.

We must ask ourselves if we are responsible, cooperative, punctual, or if we have other qualities that are beneficial both for our work performance and for the company to continue thriving.

3. Health

Although it should be noted that those who diagnose health problems, both physical and psychological, are professionals in this field, such as doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists,neurologists and endless professions, Carrying out a self-assessment about our state of health can motivate us to visit a good professional.

Some ways to assess ourselves regarding our health are as simple as feeling ourselves for strange lumps, ask ourselves if we have felt motivated in the last days, if we have noticed something strange in us…

It should be said that if we notice something unusual, we should not rush and say what we have because, in addition to the fact that we may not be experts on the subject, our opinion is not at all objective. It is necessary to go to a professional to see what could be happening to us.

However, self-assessments in this area allow you to avoid having to go to a professional for nothing in case that it is so, and thus we save ourselves a visit without meaning and we avoid taking time from the professional of shift.

4. Daily life

It is totally healthy to ask ourselves about our daily actions, as long as we "criticize" ourselves realistically., without being too hard or benevolent with ourselves. Self-assessments in this area are one of the most subjective, given that any subject can be addressed and not they necessarily have to have standardized references in this regard, unlike the other three fields.

We can ask ourselves what makes us happy, if we should continue dating our partner, what we want to be in life...

Types of self-assessment

There are multiple tools with which you can carry out self-assessments. Some come from the field of psychology, especially the clinical field, however others are typical of education and organizations.

Below we show a list of the main types of self-assessment that exist, both standardized methods and those tools that have been formulated in a more free way.

1. Textbooks

Usually, and especially in the field of education, The textbooks have at the end of each topic a page in which different exercises related to the content of the same are presented..

These questions often allow the reader to reflect on what she knows, whether or not she has learned everything. that it should and detect those topics in which they need to delve a little more in order to reach them. to dominate.

The questions can be given in multiple ways: test type, questions to develop, in the form of games...

2. self assessment sheet

Also very typical of the educational field, the self-assessment sheets allow us to write on paper how we think we have done a certain activity, in addition to allowing us to reflect on those areas that we consider we need to improve.

It allows us to have a better understanding of what our strengths are, and allows us to focus on them.

There are also self-assessment sheets focused on the workplace and mental health, asking questions in which the person answering can have complete freedom to explain how they feel, symptoms or capacities more powerful.

3. digital resources

Thanks to the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) There are more and more applications, both related to education and physical and mental health, that offer us a self-assessment.

4. surveys

This is one of the most classic tools that psychology has used. The survey items can be presented in the form of Likert scales, with numbering or with phrases such as “I agree”.

5. Tickets to self-reflection

They consist of sheets in which there are sentences that are incomplete, in which the reader must complete them with things that are related to themselves. For example, "I consider myself a person...", "I am... with others", "I am upset if...".

Thanks to their high freedom when it comes to answering, they can allow a large amount of information to be extracted about what they think and how the person who answers them is.

6. personal diaries

It is one of the most representative self-assessment formats in everyday life., although they can be used in any other field.

For example, in the school environment, you can make diaries in which students are allowed to reflect and remember what they have been learning the same day that they are completing a page of the notebook.

7. interactive notebooks

They are closely related to personal diaries, especially in the field of education, although these are more focused on the student capturing what he has acquired in class and reflecting on it.

What are the benefits of self-assessments?

Whatever the field in which it has been used, self-assessment is a resource that has more benefits than drawbacks and, in case there has been some type of problem, it is surely due to an incorrect use of this tool.

1. They are suitable for any age

In most cases, self-assessments can be applied in any age range.

Although it is clear that self-assessments in the workplace are carried out for the level of people adults, those that are more related to studies are highly variable, and can be applied at ages childish.

As long as the feedback is given at the same level as the younger children, this tool will be useful in making them aware of what they have learned. At each vital stage we have different interests and objectives. A well-done self-assessment is always helpful.

2. Better self-knowledge

Since this technique favors self-reflection, It allows us to value aspects of ourselves, to see where we could improve as people and citizens of the world..

This will help us to know if we are people who relate in a healthy way with our peers, how organized we are, if we are responsible...

3. reinforce learning

As already mentioned, in the field of education, These types of techniques make the student more aware of what she has managed to learn and what you have difficulties with.

Thanks to this, it is possible to intelligently select the contents to be studied for a exam, de-prioritizing what has already been mastered and adding priority to what needs to be improve.

By allowing the student to be a participant in their own learning, acting actively in the selection of the contents that must be improved, allows you to have a better interest towards the study and a greater motivation.

4. Promotes our autonomy

From time to time, doing a self-assessment is a positive thing, since it allows us to control our progress and also our weak points. This will allow us to have a greater degree of independence.

5. Increase our motivation

Receive feedback on how we are, especially in the work and academic field, motivates us, since it helps us to understand why certain problems occurred.

In addition, by analyzing the origin of a certain difficulty, we can address it to deal with it.

Bibliographic references:

• Leyva, Y. (2010). Assessment of learning: A practical guide for teachers.
• Sanz, L.J. and Alvarez, C.A. (2012). Evaluation in Clinical Psychology. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual. 05. CEDE: Madrid.