DISC Assessments Certified by ASI to meet the
Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
for DISC Reliability and Validity

Meets EEOC Guidelines for DISC Reliability and Validity :

• Data Reliability
• Disparate Impact
• Construct Validity
• Norms and Group Comparisons
• Test-Retest and Mean Variance

Wondering about DISC Reliability and Validity for our assessments? Relax. The Assessment Standards Institute has statistics on over 12,000 of our assessments. We pass with flying colors! Here is what their report says …

” This certifies third-party evaluation of the Personality Insights DISC assessment product, and that the assessment meets or exceeds generally accepted standards for Data Reliability, Construct Validity and Disparate Impact as measured by the EEOC 80% Guideline.

ASI complies with the “Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing” procedures manual. The “Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing” were approved as APA policy by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2013, and we operate from the latest 2014 edition of the document. The Testing Standards are a product of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Published collaboratively by the three organizations since 1966, it represents the gold standard in guidance on testing in the United States and in many other countries.

Additionally, we follow the American National Standards Institute guidelines. ANSI is a non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. Combined, these standards represent the highest quality standards we can apply to the rigorous statistical processes we employ.
Your Personality Insights DISC assessment results were investigated using the standards, guidelines, and processes recommended by these organizations, and our team is pleased to announce that your assessment meets or exceeds the generally accepted standards.”

“Please share the accompanying Certificate with pride to your customers and clients.” – The Assessment Standards Institute, January 3, 2020

Certified for DISC Reliability and Validity

Our Assessments are Certified to be Very Reliable

The Assessment Standards Institute (ASI) uses the statistical method of Cronbach’s Alpha to measure reliability. According to ASI, Cronbach’s Alpha “is technique is regarded as one of the most robust measures of reliability and presents the highest ‘bar’ from which to compare.” The resulting alpha coefficient of reliability ranges from 0 to 1 in providing this overall assessment of a measure’s reliability.

So what is considered “reliable?”

• • Coefficient below 0.70 are considered suspect, Questionable
  • Coefficients above 0.70 to 0.80 are considered Acceptable
  • Coefficients above 0.80 to 0.90 are considered Very Good
  • Coefficients above 0.90 to 1.00 are considered Excellent

Our Cronbach’s Alpha scores range from 0.85 – 0.91 which are in the Very Good  to Excellent range 

Our Assessments are Certified for Construct Validity

The Assessment Standards Institute (ASI) has tested our assessments for construct validity. According to ASI, “construct validity is one of the most central concepts in psychology. It is the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports to be measuring… Construct validity examines the question: Does the measure behave like the theory says a measure of that construct should behave?”

ASI calculated Pearson’s Correlation Coefficients for the DISC model opposing traits of D vs. S and I vs. C. The purpose of a correlation is to display the level or correspondence or co-relationship between two variables. An item or trait correlated against itself yields a perfect correlation of 1.0, that’s as high as the scale goes. A completely opposite correlation yields a coefficient of -1.0, and that’s a perfect inverse or negative correlation. Scores that have no co-relationship at all, show a correlation coefficient at or near zero.

What numbers show good construct validity?

The DISC Model has two opposing traits (Task-Oriented vs. People-Oriented and Outgoing vs. Reserved). So, we expect there to be a high negative correlation on opposing traits. Thus, we are looking for a correlation number with a strong negative value (remember, -1 is the lowest on the range from -1 to 1.

ASI found that the “D” and “S” traits had a strong negative correlation of -0.81 and the I and C traits also had a strong negative correlation of -0.78 which confirms that the traits being measured on each axis of the DISC model employed are in fact in opposition to one another as expected.

ASI Conclusion:  “The data submitted for evaluation passed all acceptable standards and is therefore awarded ASI Certification.“

Our Assessments are Certified to Meet the 80% EEOC Disparate Impact Guideline

The Assessment Standards Institute (ASI) evaluated our assessments to help ensure that our assessments would not be used as tools which violate federal anti-discrimination laws if an employer intentionally uses them to discriminate or exclude based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, or age (40 or older).  The analysis provided is intended as informational only and NOT to be used as legal advice. You should consult with a qualified attorney to determine if your data or assessment results have an adverse impact on a protected class.

For purposes of our evaluation, mean scores based on gender were calculated by ASI and found to fall within the 80% rule guideline.

Our Assessments meet ASI standards for Test / Retest

According to ASI, “The Assessment Standards Institute has conducted data analysis to evaluate the stability of provided DISC data over time using a data reliability coefficient.
Stability refers to the tools ability to produce the same measurements over a defined unit of time.”

This stability can be quantified in the form of a reliability coefficient, which is a statistic that is generated by looking at the mathematical relationship between a group’s initial scores on an instrument and their subsequent scores. Reliability coefficients range between -1 and +1. The closer that a correlation coefficient is to +1, the more stable the instrument is considered to be reliable.

Researchers generally use the following guidelines to help them interpret these test-retest reliability coefficients:

What are good test / retest values?

• • Coefficient below 0.70 are considered unacceptable
  • Coefficients above 0.70 are considered acceptable, and
  • Coefficients above 0.80 are considered very good

Personality Insights, Inc assessment test /retest reliability was found to be in the Very Good range at 0.82 – 0.84.

ASI conclusion: “The data submitted for evaluation passed all ASI standards for the Test-Retest analysis and therefore is awarded ASI Certification.”

We take DISC Reliability and Validity Seriously

We are one of the longest standing providers of DISC assessments in the world having offered DISC assessments for over 30 years.

Our assessments have been evaluated by psychometric statisticians multiple times over the years – each time passing rigorous testing.

The latest evaluation in 2022 by the Assessment Standards Institute once again confirms the quality of our DISC assessments. The analysis also highlights the DISC Model of Human Behavior as a solid construct for personality style.

You can use our DISC assessments with confidence. DISC is our thing. It’s not just one of many things we do, It is central to everything we do.

 

Sincerely,

Robert A. Rohm, Ph.D. and your friends at Personality Insights, Inc.

 

More about Dr. Robert A. Rohm, Ph.D.  |   More about our DISC Profiles  |  Become a Certified DISC Profile Analyst  |  Article: What is DISC?   |   RobertRohm.com