ABSTRACT
This book is based on three key propositions. First, the effectiveness of any educational, therapeutic, or counseling intervention depends at least in part on the quality of the assessment on which it is based. For example, a decision to provide a youth with a program of behavior modification treatment for depression would be appropriate to the extent that it reflects the actual emotional state of the youth and other characteristics that would affect his or her reactions to this treatment. Similarly, the ultimate success of a decision to counsel a youth to follow an academic stream in secondary school will be limited by the accuracy of the initial assessment of the student’s aptitudes and interests.
