It is vital to get an absolutely correct assessment of the preclear, first on goal and then on terminal, in order to make S.O.P. Goals work. There is no such thing as a nearly correct assessment. The assessment must be perfect.

Preparation for S.O.P. Goals as standard practice now is to do a Joburg Security Check and clear all levels completely. Run the pc on the Pre-Havingness Scale in general without terminal if the tone arm seems stuck. This is done by assessing on the Pre-Hav Scale for a level and then run a five-way bracket, probably “think” or “get the idea” whichever falls most. Do the Joburg but omit the Pre-Hav run if the pc drops a third of a dial on a can squeeze without increasing the sensitivity knob of the meter. If the sensitivity must be increased to two or above after the Joburg is done in order to get a third of a dial drop, then a general concept type run as assessed from the Pre-Hav Scale will be indicated in order to get an accurate assessment.

Assess for goals first by making sure the meter is nul every time you ask for a new goal. If it isn’t nul on this question, ask for withheld goals, different goals, etc, etc. Then there are more goals.

Then assess by Elimination. Put a cross in front of those that cease to produce a needle action when they were repeated a few times to the pc. If after three repeats they are still reading, put a slant in front of the goal to show that it is still in the list. Go over the goals list the first time. If in doubt about a reaction then, leave the goal in. After the first read of the whole list and every completion of the whole list ask for new goals against the meter and write them all down as the pc gives them. Then go over the list again crossing out those that have ceased to read on the needle when repeated to pc.

You will wind up with one goal. Check this by asking for additional goals of various types. Check every possible way. I don’t care how much time you spend. An inaccurate assessment puts auditing hours to infinity.

An accurate assessment means a finite number of hours to clear. Beware of artistic goals as these read strongly at first and then tend to drop out.

Do the terminals list just like you did a goals list. Except there are two lists of terminals, one is the causative list of the selected goal and the other is the effect end of the goal.

Example:

Goal: I want to shoot sparrows.

Causative list consists of “Who would want to shoot sparrows?” Effect list: “What would you call sparrows?”

In short there is one terminals list for “I” in the goal and one for “,Sparrows”. When adding to this list add on both ends.

When a list of terminals for the goal is complete and requests for more goals do not fall on the meter then begin a repeat type read of the terminals to the pc just like you did goals. If it is still registering after three reads, leave it in. If it looks like it is fading read it many times and if it goes nul cross it out with an X. If in doubt leave it in. Each time you complete the whole terminals list ask for more terminals for the causative and also for the effect end of the goal and add to terminals list. Then reassess the list again.

You will wind up with one terminal if you go over the list often enough. All others as in goals will become nul on the needle on repeat. When you are sure you have the terminal check by asking for more terminals and go over any suspicions you may have. Sometimes the goal falls out just when you are sure you have the goal. Sometimes the terminal falls out when you are sure you have the terminal.

If finally you have the consistent falling terminal and nothing shakes it out, you have your perfect assessment.

Forget rises. They mean nothing because they can’t be differentiated as to what made them rise. So forget them and ignore them.

Change of characteristic of any kind (except rise) is a needle reaction for the purpose of assessment. In short, if the needle does something different than it just did (except rise), that is a read. If the needle no longer reads (except rises) then the goal or terminal is nul.

Rock slam: When the read of the goal is a rock slam or the read of the terminal is a rock slam this will probably become the read of the final goal and at last the final terminal. However do not assess only for rock slams. Rock slams are just the strongest indicator. Also note after a goal or a terminal if it theta bopped or rock slammed. Don’t bother to note extent of fall now.

Always be very sure to run an assessment in model session. Be sure to keep ARC breaks and PTPs nul on the needle by cleaning them up when you note them.

If the pc has a long duration present time problem, ask him for the terminal or terminals involved in this problem. Roughly take the one that falls most and run it on the Pre-Hav Scale Assessment like you would in S.O.P. Goals. But this isn’t a goals run. It is just the fastest way of getting a recurrent PTP out of the road. This means PTPs of long duration as different than PTPs of short duration, which are run only as in the Model Session Form process consisting of responsibility.

Doing an assessment is very easy but must be very thorough. An improper assessment condemns the pc to an infinity of auditing. He will never go clear. It is no crime to do this and no pc should complain. You can do a new assessment any time it becomes apparent (say the pc is still unclear and showing no signs of it in fifty hours) that the old assessment was incorrect.

If an inaccurate assessment has been done, and the pc run no matter how long on it, then a new assessment can always be done.

Do not run a stuck tone arm more than twenty minutes before reassessing on the Pre-Hav Scale. This is the only severe way you can goof a pc because he can’t easily be reassessed on the Pre-Hav Scale.

If the goal and terminal rock slammed when found you can probably expect that you will have to run Pre-Hav levels more briefly, as a rock slam means all five brackets are stuck and the Pre-Hav Scale jammed into it as well. Probably you should assess for rock slam on the Pre-Hav Scale and reassess each time the rock slam runs out on a level.

This rule apparently sends the rule of auditing only on tone arm action by the boards, but, if you kept the rock slam steady needled at set, the tone arm would be wildly waving back and forth. So it’s the same rule in effect.

This is the latest gen on assessments. I have written it all down for you to make sure that you would have another look at it all.

I think staff auditors are doing very well and I am proud of their work.

Staff auditing quality is so far ahead of field auditing quality that I shudder. The reports I get in here on field auditing on Pre-Hav and S.O.P. Goals are so grim that it tempts one to put them all back in the Academy fast before they goof up any more pcs.