3 METHODS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNICATION-SKILLS

Assessment of students' communication skills after a course in problem -clarifying skills requires an assessment method different from the tr aditional written examination. In this article we describe the constru ction and evaluation of simulations, video tests and paper-and-pencil tests. The results of an investigation into the quality of the tests s how that they all have their advantages and disadvantages. The simulat ion is valid, but students' scores on one simulation are not reliable in the sense of generalisable. In order to achieve generalisable score s, i.e., scores which indicate how well a student will perform in prob lem-clarifying interviews in general, five simulations have to be admi nistered. Furthermore, the simulation is time-consuming. The video tes t is a reliable and a reasonably efficient instrument. Its validity is also reasonable. The paper-and-pencil test is reliable and very effic ient. It is, however, questionable to what extent students' proficienc y in conducting a problem-clarifying interview can validly be assessed by the paper-and-pencil test.