Assessment Futures: Reflections on the next decade of Psychological Assessment in South Africa

Abstract

This milestone provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on psychological assessment in South Africa as the modern history of psychology and psychological assessment in South Africa mirrors the long and complex history of the country.Prior to 1994, during colonisation and during the apartheid regime, psychological assessments were frequently used as tools of exclusion, particularly against South Africans of non-European ancestry collectively described as black South Africans (Laher, 2024).Many of the assessments were designed primarily for white populations and were used to support racially discriminatory policies.Lacking cultural relevance, validity and fairness, these assessments produced biased outcomes that reinforced segregation and oppression (Foxcroft & De Kock, 2023;Laher, 2024).The end of apartheid in 1994 marked the beginning of a transformation in various aspects of South African society, including psychological assessment practices.Efforts were and continue to be made to make psychological assessment more inclusive and relevant to a multicultural and multilingual South Africa. Psychological assessment in South Africa: 1994-2024In the legislation and policy space, the Employment Equity Act Chapter 2, section 8 (Government Gazette, 1998) and the Health Professions Act Annexure 12, Section 5 (Government Gazette, 2006) advocate for fair and ethical test use.The Professional Board for Psychology (PBP) at the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has a number of documents and guidelines speaking to ethical and responsible test use including the ethical guidelines governing psychological practice (HPCSA, 2010), guidelines for test classification (HPCSA, 2021) and guidelines for system-based testing (PBP, 2021).The HPCSA's Professional Practice Committee currently classifies tests as psychological, but does not assess their quality.To address gaps in this regulatory framework, three key organisations -the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA), the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology in South Africa (SIOPSA), and the Association of Test Publishers South Africa (ATP-SA)collaborated to establish Assessment Standards South Africa (ASSA).Assessment Standards South Africa, a non-governmental body, is responsible for overseeing the quality of assessments, ensuring that they meet both local and international standards, filling a critical role in maintaining high standards in psychological testing practices in South Africa (Laher et al., in press).Research studies, published in journals such as the South African Journal of Psychology and the Journal of Psychology in Africa, have investigated various psychological assessments, including cognitive, vocational, and personality tests.Local conferences like the annual PsySSA, SIOPSA and the South African Clinical Neuropsychological Association (SACNA) congresses and international platforms like the International Test Commission conference also showcase the breadth of assessment work in the country.A number of books have been published on assessment in South Africa (Fereirra, 2016;

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