DISC vs DiSC®

Because the basic concept of DISC is not copyrighted, anyone can use it to create an assessment. The suite of research-backed Everything DiSC® assessments uses a lowercase “i” to distinguish these products from others based on the general DISC model. Learn more about the differences between DISC and DiSC.

Are free DISC assessments accurate?

If you’re planning to use a psychometric testing tool in your organization, it’s important to find one that is backed by research. People don’t want their time wasted with a tool they can’t take seriously.

Some free personality testing tools are constructed like an online quiz. Everyone receives the same set of questions, and results that show you which style your answers resemble most closely with little additional analysis. While these are suitable for individuals who want to take these tests for fun, the process isn’t validated and doesn’t provide insights for individuals that wish to apply their results in a professional context.

In contrast, Everything DiSC assessments use sophisticated, well-researched testing methods to produce exceptionally precise results. Everything DiSC is backed by 40+ years of research-based assessment experience and 200+ years of publishing excellence at its parent company, John Wiley & Sons.

You can see the reliability of Everything DiSC in its excellent test-retest scores: When someone takes the assessment, then takes it again at a later time, how stable are the results? Reliability scores above .70 are considered good reliability. Everything DiSC assessments have a median test-retest reliability of .86.

The accuracy of Everything DiSC is also proven. People agree with the narrative descriptions of their styles 90% of the time.

Studies analyzing the validity of Everything DiSC assessments also show strong results. This basically means the test measures what it says it measures. Evaluation of the eight DiSC style scales strongly reflect the expected pattern of correlations.

Want to dig into the science a bit more? Here’s a 72-page validity research report for Everything DiSC (PDF).

In addition to the validity research mentioned above, each Everything DiSC product must achieve very high satisfaction scores in beta testing before it is offered for sale. For instance, Everything DiSC® Productive Conflict went through three full rounds of beta testing with nearly 14,000 participants and 250 facilitators before it launched.

Adaptive testing

Everything DiSC assessments use computerized adaptive testing to produce more precise results for assessment takers. A sophisticated algorithm analyzes a person’s responses to core questions, and asks questions based on those responses to get a more accurate depiction of their whole personality. This allows the test results to reflect all of their priorities, even if those priorities aren’t expected of their assigned DiSC style. In other words, adaptive testing delivers results far more complex than “You have a D style” and will identify priorities outside your dominant style.

Everything DiSC^® profiles using adaptive testing are 12% more accurate than previous non-adaptive versions, and 32% more accurate than the 28-question DiSC Classic assessment.

Detailed results reports

When organizations introduce personality assessments as part of their professional development programs, assessment takers often have a lot of questions. “How does this apply to my work and life? Will people use my results to pigeonhole me? How can I use this information in my relationships with other people?”

Results from free DiSC assessments are not detailed enough to answer these kinds of questions. They offer only surface-level insights and aren’t tailored to the individual taking the test.

With Everything DiSC, nearly every page of the 20+ page profile report is tailored to the respondent. Both the content and the language used are personalized based on the person’s style and how they answered the questions. The testing and scoring model of Everything DiSC assessments accounts for all of a participant’s unique answers and ensures that those are reflected in the report.

The report offers information about the test taker’s style and the meaning behind their placement in the four quadrants. Participants will read about the priorities and needs that shape their workplace experience. The report also explains if there were priorities that fall outside the norms for their assigned style. It covers motivators, stressors, and how they can improve interaction with individuals in other style quadrants.

To see how these elements come together and discover other portions of a report, you can view an Everything DiSC Workplace sample report on discprofile.com.

Non-judgmental language

Additionally, all Everything DiSC assessments share two core principles that prevent results from being misinterpreted or misused:

1. All styles are valuable, and everyone is a blend of all four styles.
2. Your work style is also influenced by other factors such as life experiences, education, and maturity.

Everything DiSC results reflect these principles by illustrating how participants are a blend of all styles. They avoid making learners feel pigeonholed by their styles and serve as a foundation for discussion about individual experiences that shape preferences.

Know and grow

Free online DISC tests are information focused, as they simply describe the learner’s style. On the other hand, Everything DiSC is development focused, and guides the learner through the process of developing stronger relationships. It goes far beyond description to give learners personalized, actionable goals and tips for reaching them to help build interpersonal skills in the long term.

This focus on behavior change and personal development is a key component of the increased ROI that comes from a paid DiSC assessment.

Products tailored to your goals

When selecting a DiSC assessment, it’s also important to ask why you’re investing in DiSC. Looking to improve how your sales team relates to customers and each other? Wanting to learn about more effective methods of interpersonal conflict resolution? Want to give participants an opportunity to learn more about themselves and their teammates? Everything DiSC has distinct assessments that are tailored to these specific needs, among others.

One key challenge that organizations across multiple industries are facing is a soft skills gap in new employees. Soft skills are the behaviors and traits that aren’t technical or job-specific but lead to more productivity and engagement at work. Examples include critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and time management. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the most in-demand soft skills include collaboration, problem solving, flexibility, and dependability. One of the benefits of an Everything DiSC assessment is that it gives learners the opportunity to learn about their soft skill strengths, gaps, and blind spots. Learners’ reports offer them concrete tips for developing soft skills that they might need when working with different kinds of people. It goes a step beyond simply developing soft skills, teaching learners how to read people and determine their preferences, and then adjust which soft skills they use when collaborating. This kind of skill development adds even more ROI to Everything DiSC assessments and programming.

75% of long-term job success depends on people skills, while only 25% on technical knowledge.
Research by the Stanford Research Institute International and the Carnegie Melon Foundation

Paid Everything DiSC assessments meet a much wider range of organizational needs than free assessments. This ensures that the money and time spent on your DiSC program produce insights that are immediately applicable to your teams and ultimately help them reach their goals. It increases the overall value of your program.