Monday, September 9, 2013

Review: PeopleKeys

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In the past, I have had the opportunity to learn about the four distinct personality styles, and combinations of such, that make up our character. I find it fascinating to know that I have four children, and all of them are so different personality-wise. It takes a lot of prayer and wisdom for me, as a mom, to deal with each of them in an effective way, taking into account their personality strengths and weaknesses, and how they will respond to communication, correction, and instruction.
 
When I was given the opportunity to review the StudentKeys Online Personality Style Report from PeopleKeys, I was very intrigued. This is the first time I have heard of this company, and I was very interested to read their history and the theory behind their behavioral assessment.
 
PeopleKeys uses the same four basic behavioral traits that I have previously learned about, and breaks them down into a simple and understandable list, called DISC.
  • D - Drive
  • I - Influence
  • S - Steadiness
  • C - Compliance
The material that this company produces also takes into account that most people do not fit neatly into one of the four personality types, but rather are a combination of at least two.
 
While PeopleKeys has a number of resources for the business world, including personality tests for hiring, communication skills, and team building, I am most interested in their student assessments and learning how to best enrich the relationship I have as a mother and teacher to my children. That's what I will be focusing on for this review.
 
Here is a video overview of the report that I reviewed:
 
 
While PeopleKeys does have a Complete Student Binder that sells for $49 and contains all the student tests that are available, parents and teachers can also select individual workbooks and tests that are particularly suited to the area that you will find most helpful. There is also an extensive selection of online products available that allow you to have your student complete the test online, have it automatically scored, and then download a completed report of the evaluation.
 
What we received for this review: We received one online personality assessment: the Student Personality Style Report. Normally, this report sells for $12.00. It can be purchased in bulk for school or classroom use, at a discount up to 50% off, if 50 or more individual tests are purchased.
 
How we used this: I chose to do this online personality style report with Melissa, my (almost) 12 year old. The suggested age for this tool is age 13 through adult. I knew Melissa was on the young end of this, but decided to proceed because she was the child I was most interested in gaining more insight to her behavior patterns.
 
When we logged on to the online questionnaire, we found a colorful welcoming page. Melissa was excited to be chosen as the only one in the family who got to do a special computer project with Mom, and was keen on being able to click and answer all the questions.
 
 
 
 
There were three pages of questions that looked similar to this screen shot:
 
 
 
 
When Melissa was finished with all three pages of questions, a page came up that told us that she had successfully completed the online assessment, and there was a link to download the completed report:
 
 

 

What was the test like?  The information said that the test would take about 10-15 minutes. It took Melissa 45 minutes. I am not really sure that it could be done in 10-15 minutes. The questions are ones that really make you think. In most scenarios, you have to answer a question by ranking four character traits in order to how you would respond to a particular scenario. There is instant feedback if you mark the same number twice, and you also have the option of saving your work and returning to it at a later time. Since Melissa wanted to complete it all in one sitting, we persevered through it. Most of the questions she was able to answer completely on her own. A few of them required a little extra explanation from me, mostly just explaining what was meant by particular wording. I was glad to sit by Melissa and do some extra explaining, because I knew that she was a little young for the testing, and also it gave me some fascinating insight into some of her thinking processes! I explained that this was a "fun" set of questions (I never called it a test) and I told her that there were NO wrong answers, in order to alleviate any 'test stress'.
 
What happened after the test was done? I got an instant report of her personality analysis! It came as a PDF file that I could save and print from my computer. I have completed similar personality tests before, and absolutely hated having to tediously grade every question and chart the answers, so having the online option of instant results with no effort on my part was excellent!
 
What was the report like? The report for the "Student Personality Style" is 34 pages long! It begins with an introduction to the personality styles, explaining why it is important to understand and what each type of personality is. I found this short and simple explanation very thorough and helpful. Often this type of information can get bogged down with wordiness and language that is over my head, so I appreciated the simple explanations in everyday language.
 
From the report, here is a list of reasons why it would be important to understand your personality style (or your child's, if you are a parent or teacher):
  • It helps you become a better communicator, and recognize and adapt when working with different personality styles.
  • It helps you resolve or even prevent conflicts by being aware of the other person's motivation and adjust your own expectations.
  • It helps you to appreciate the differences in others, rather than being frustrated by them.
  • It helps you gain credibility and positively influence others.
Next there was a section that identified Melissa's personality style (She is a "persuader"). This page listed her most distinct emotions, what types of action she brings to a team, and what her greatest fears are. It explains how she motivates others, how she reads or evaluates others, how she goes about influencing others, how she responds to pressure, what areas she needs improvement in, and some greatest strengths and weaknesses.
 
According to the DISC graph, which comes next, Melissa is a primary "I" personality style, which means she is an "Influencer". It also explains how her answers to the test questions showed her other prevailing styles, creating a "style blend".
 
The remainder of the report is devoted to explaining the personality styles in greater detail. There is really nothing left to guesswork at all. This is one of the most concise, thorough, and detailed reports I have ever read on this subject!
 
Also included in the report is information and personal development questions pertaining to thinking and learning styles. There are worksheets to help the tester learn more about themselves, and learn more about recognizing behavior patterns and cues from those around them.
 
Final thoughts:  I have learned so much about Melissa's style and behavior pattern from reading this. It has been very enlightening! When I printed out the report, I was reading it to the family, and all of us were awestruck by how "spot-on" the assessment was of Melissa's personality. It was great to read positive evaluation of how helpful her character traits can be, and what situations they are best suited for. I think it will really help me as a mom to understand her better, and develop schoolwork and situations that will allow her to be the most effective. I also like having her weaknesses on paper, as it will be a good reminder to read and pray over, and to help Melissa overcome challenges she will face in life as a result of how she reads situations and responds to them. Overall, I think this evaluation was extremely helpful! I would highly recommend it to parents and teachers who would like to have a better working knowledge of their students, and be more effective in their relationships.
 
We would also like to try: Of course, the other teens in the family now want to complete a personality style assessment of their own, and I would like to read the results of theirs as well, so we will be ordering each their own test in the near future. Laura would also like to complete the Career Style Report to gain some insight into what types of studies she would like to pursue after high school. There is also a Children's Workbook that I am considering for Kelly, as well as an entire faith based series to be used in ministry settings that looks very interesting.
 
The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed a number of various products from PeopleKeys. If you would like to read about some of their other products, please click the banner below!
  
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