The quality of forensic psychological assessments, reports, and testimony:Acknowledging the gap between promise and practice

Driving the past decade, the field of forensic psychological assessment ent ered a period of standard setting reflected in the publication of specialty guidelines for practice min in the proliferation of educational opportunit ies, training programs, and credentialing and certification procedures for forensic examiners. Representing significant efforts to advance the quality of psychological assessments in legal contexts, these developments foresha dow the promise of forensic assessment. During this same rime period new ev idence emerged regarding the quality of forensic practice. This article rev iews this evidence and evaluates current practice against the promise of fo rensic assessment. Forensic reports appear to be of higher quality than tho se described by commentators in the 1970s and early 1980s; nevertheless, th e level of practice falls far short of professional aspirations for the fie ld. The review identifies significant areas of weakness that demand the att ention of professional organizations, accrediting agencies, educators, lawm akers, practitioners, and consumers.