We regret to announce that the APSI is temporarily unavailable for purchase effective November 2019.  We anticipate its return sometime between Fall 2020 – Spring 2021.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  Please contact us for alternate recommendation and also consider the Personal Style Assessment I and II or see our other complementary tools in the CAREER & VOCATIONAL INTEREST section of our site.

Purpose: The Adolescent Personal Style Inventory serves two audiences.

First, for students it provides them with (a) useful feedback for personal growth and development, along with scores on key personality dimensions. (b) The scores should help them develop a more precise vocabulary for personality so that they can gain more insights into their own and others’ behavior. (c) suggested careers based on personality scores.

Second, for teachers and school counselors, it provides (a) predictor scores for attendance, grades, behavioral problems, school-to-work transferability, career decidedness. (b) The student’s personality scores can help schools make classroom / teacher assignments. (c) suggestions on optimal learning environment, (d) personality strengths and weaknesses that would be useful to incorporate into parent-teacher conferences.

About the Test: This test consists of a 118 question personality inventory. This test will probably take about 15-20 minutes although it will vary from person to person because it is untimed.

What the Report Gives Students: Graphical display of scores, interpretation of each personality score along with suggestions for personal development, and suggestions for careers.

What the Report Gives School Administrators (for each student): Summary page of main predictor scores, scores and definitions for each personality dimension, Optimal learning environment, strengths and weaknesses, suggested careers.

Testing Process: Online testing provides immediate reporting. We can arrange for the reports to be sent wherever you wish.

Validity Information: Available upon request. Research on this instrument has been published in the following peer reviewed journals: Personality and Individual Differences, Journal of College Student Development, Research in Higher Education, Psychoeducational Assessment, Identity, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Learning and Individual Differences, Journal of Community Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation in College Counseling, Child & Youth Care Forum.

Benefits of the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory for Educators

APSI helps educators target the instructional needs of individual students – Understanding the needs of each student is crucial for making education relevant for the learner. The Resource Associates’ APSI is the first of its kind to give teachers and counselors information on student personality and its impact on learning style. Getting to know a student gives you insight to work with him or her effectively, but educators often lack the time to develop in-depth relationships. The Resource Associates system allows teachers to “get to know” students more quickly by helping them understand each student’s personality, thus fostering a tailored approach to interventions with students.

APSI helps teachers and counselors target at-risk students for early intervention – Recognizing students who are high risk for attendance problems, academic problems, and behavioral incidents is difficult. Unfortunately, early symptoms of serious problems are hard to recognize, so that the student gets into trouble before the school reacts. Data from the APSI provides an early warning system so that teachers and counselors can look more closely and create an effective intervention.

APSI provides insights for curriculum development – With current legislation and public pressure for character education, schools have been operating blind in choosing appropriate curriculum to foster personal growth. Now, the APSI can be used to provide the data needed to make informed choices so that curriculum really fits the needs of the student population. Long term, it allows educators to evaluate whether their curriculum is achieving desired outcomes.

APSI can establish a baseline to measure student employability – Historically, schools have emphasized academic achievement, but employers still complain that new graduates are unprepared with the necessary soft skills for today’s workplace. This system is the first mechanism of its kind to help schools judge the employability of their students by comparing them to current workplace standards. Serves as a basis for federally mandated Vocational Assessment to meet requirements for Carl Perkins Act.

APSI provides ideas for curriculum to meet Character Education goals – The personal development suggestions given in the APSI Student Report are ideally suited for a classroom discussion of personal style and how that impacts everyday behavior. A discussion of this type can facilitate School to Work Transition by helping students see how their typical style compares to other people, how others may perceive your behavior, and what behaviors are valued in different environments – especially school versus work settings.

APSI Benefits to Students

Gain insights about their personality – The APSI gives students their scores on nine core personality traits. Descriptions of both ends of the spectrum help students gain a working vocabulary for personality. Being able to articulate personal style concepts and having a more in-depth understanding of personality gives young people valuable information on which to build a stronger sense of self-identity.

Understand how personality translates into daily behavior – The descriptions provided by the APSI help students see what impact their personality has on the way they act everyday. By gaining new insights, students are in a better position to see how some aspects of their behavior are self-defeating while others are sources of strength and success. Having a realistic self-concept is the basis for personality maturity.

Appreciate how they compare with others – Understanding how people are different is an important step in valuing each person’s unique qualities. Reading about their personality scores in the APSI helps students see that other people can be different, and all types of personalities bring offer something of value.

Skills for life – For each personality trait, The APSI offers useful ideas for personal development. These range of personal habits (like study skills), interpersonal skills (like building friendships), group interaction skills (leadership or conflict management skills), to personal goal setting–all of which are important in academic success as well as friendships, romantic involvements, marriage, family, career, and community involvement.