When should you take (and retake) the assessments?

Each assessment has different purposes, so each comes with varying recommendations for when to take and retake them. Some you only need to take once, but others are useful to take more regularly. 

The Four Tendencies

The Four Tendencies assessment measures our responses to external and internal expectations. 

Recommendation: Take it first in your early teens, then again in your 20s, as your brain develops. 

There is no hard-and-fast rule about when to take this assessment. However, because the Four Tendencies is a free assessment and results can change with growth, this is a great assessment to take and retake after a teen transitions to adulthood. 

Note: This assessment may not be helpful for teenagers who have yet to connect to expectations.

CliftonStrengths

The CliftonStrengths assessment measures your natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving through 34 ranked criteria across four domains.

Recommendation: Anyone over age 16 should take CliftonStrengths. There is typically no strong reason to retake it.

This assessment is great for teenagers leaving high school and going to college or entering the workforce. With Strengths, the top five and bottom five stay stable throughout your life. The middle strengths shift based on circumstance, like if you have to lean into a strength for a job requirement. However much you must adapt to the circumstances, it is still unlikely that any of your middle strengths will become top strengths. So, CliftonStrengths does not really need to be retaken, and I don’t recommend spending the money to do it unless you’re facing a significant life crisis.

TTI Assessments            

Recommendation: Anyone with at least a 9th-grade reading level* can take any TTI assessments: DISC, 12 Driving Forces, Six Motivators, EQ, and Acumen.

*The age recommendation is more about the comprehension of the language than the assessment itself. If a person has an adult that can help them understand the words, they can take the assessment. However, Acumen is only sometimes recommended for younger teens.

DISC               

DISC assesses your observable behaviors through four measures: Dominant (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Compliance (C). With this assessment, you learn language around these observable behaviors, which can improve communication, engagement, and self-development. 

So much growth happens between teen years and adulthood that it’s worthwhile to have teens retake the assessments in their 20s. But it’s also helpful to take these assessments after significant life events – whether personal or global – that can cause big shifts in your behaviors. The pandemic, for example, caused major changes in many people’s behaviors. 

It’s important to note that behavioral adaptations will likely shift more than natural behavior styles. Behavior adaptations will change based on growth in emotional intelligence and/or removal from a situation that was pulling on you in a negative way. 

If you really want to monitor your growth, take DISC once a year or every couple of years to track differences in your adaptation.

The Six Motivators/The 12 Driving Forces

The Six Motivators assesses what drives you to fulfill your passion or purpose by measuring the high points – or your affinities – in six areas. This assessment measures what energizes and stresses you. The 12 Driving Forces uses the same science as The Six Motivators but analyzes highs and lows (affinities and aversions) on six spectrums.

Like DISC, your Motivators and 12 Driving Forces shift based on major life events. What drives you does not usually change much over time, but you may see slight shifts, especially as you age.

Anyone who took DISC, Motivators, and/or The 12 Driving Forces before the pandemic should retake it now. Anyone who has had a death in the family, is going through a major breakup or divorce, or going through anything else that can be traumatic would benefit from retaking these assessments. 

Acumen Capacity Index (ACI)

ACI measures acumen – how clearly we think and make decisions – by measuring six core dimensions across two perspectives.  

Recommendation: This assessment is better to take as a late teen (end of high school) or adult because it includes intense subject matter and requires some emotional intelligence that younger children may not yet have. 

Results can change from day to day, particularly in self-view measures. For this reason, I often use this assessment as a diagnostic to measure progress, but it’s also a tool for self-awareness. ACI helps reveal if a person isn’t seeing the value they bring to the world. It also shows the extent of the emotional baggage one carries that clouds perception, and some aspects even measure the emotional state when the assessment is taken. All of these results are subject to the emotional clarity of the individual at the time of the assessment.

EQ

EQ (Emotional Quotient) measures our emotional intelligence, which indicates how well we can manage our emotions and impact our relationships with others. 

Recommendation: This assessment is better to take as a late teen (end of high school) or adult because it requires some emotional intelligence that younger children may not yet have. 

Emotional Intelligence can be improved through learning, experience, and coaching. Clients often use their EQ scores to track progress in developing self-awareness, others’ awareness, and success in modulating behaviors positively. In addition to self and others’ awareness, EQ measures your motivation to rise above what’s going on in the present and stay connected to outcomes — or the goal you have in mind. That one measure tells an important story of personal development. Tracking its change provides invaluable insights. 

Summary

• Take The 4 Tendencies in your early teens, then again in your 20s.

• Take CliftonStrengths age 16 or older; no need to retake it unless there’s a major life change.

• Take DISC, the Six Motivators, and 12 Driving Forces at an age where you can understand a 9th-grade reading level, and retake it every year or every other year to monitor progress. 

• Take ACI and EQ as a late teen or young adult, and retake them as regularly as you like to measure changes.

Check with Jeanne or your assessment provider if you have questions about taking or retaking an assessment.