A valid and reliable assessment instrument of counseling skills serves instructors and students in a skills course. For instructors, it provides security for gatekeeping and appropriate means to provide students with grades. For students, it gives them benchmarks by which to measure their progress practicing skills and reduces their anxiety, as they are aware of precise expectations for performance. This presentation will discuss best practices for rubric development in a master’s level counseling skills course, with an emphasis on the inclusion of multicultural competency measures.
