Self-assessment is the first and most important step in the career exploration process.
As students begin to understand who they are, their needs and strengths, their skills, their interests and aptitudes, they will develop stronger connections between their academic learning, their personal lives and where they see themselves in the future. Self-assessment does not just happen once; it is a lifelong process as students establish and work towards achieving goals, goals that will change with lived experiences.
In Middle/Junior High School, self-assessments can benefit students in their learning across multiple subject areas. It can show them how they learn, how they can apply what they're learning and how they can be supported in meaningful and relevant ways so they can be successful in their learning.
Teachers from different curricula can engage students in self-assessments as part of their classroom instruction and delivery. Students can meet multiple outcomes as they apply their self-assessment results and new knowledge to their learning. In doing so, they are showing they use critical, creative, and metacognitive processes to make sense of ideas, information, and experiences. They can also convey meaning to their teachers and other students through speaking, writing, and representing and apply their knowledge to their learning environment.