Education and adult life/work are concurrent, not consecutive. To address this new paradigm, Work Keys provide a common language for education and business to prepare people for education and employment transitions. Work Keys components are job profiling, skills assessments, and targets for instruction. (SK)

Recent reports by government agencies show concern regarding the extent to which American workers lack the workplace skills necessary to meet the challenges of today's workplace. The Work Keys system, a program developed by American College Testing (ACT) to help improve the job skills of the workforce, is described. A pilot project is being…

The Work Keys System from the American College Testing Program is an innovative national system that provides a continuous structure for documenting and improving the workplace skills of individuals. By providing individuals with reliable information about their own skill levels and the levels required for jobs, Work Keys can help individuals make…

While most organizations rely on cutting scores to screen job applicants, little research and few accepted methods exist to help practitioners identify cutting scores that will be job-related. This paper describes how the Work Keys system job analysis process was used to provide job-related, content-valid cutting scores. Using job analysis results…

"Work Keys" is a comprehensive program for assessing and teaching workplace skills. This serial "special issue" features 18 first-hand reports on Work Keys projects in action in states across North America. They show how the Work Keys is helping businesses and educators solve the challenge of building a world-class work force.…

In conjunction with employers, educators, and experts in employment and training requirements, American College Testing (ACT) selected 12 generic employability skills--skills crucial to effective performance in most jobs--to form the basis of the Work Keys System. They are as follows: reading for information, applied mathematics, listening,…

Research identified a literacy assessment program applicable to the adult population functioning at pre-General Education Development (GED) test levels. An attempt to align the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) with the Illinois State Board of Education Learning Standards failed. ACT Work Keys emerged as the recommended and most effective…

Work Keys (occupational tests developed by American College Testing) could support an employer's human resource function in a number of ways: (1) communicating to educators the skill requirements for an employer's particular jobs on a national basis; (2) providing students with a realistic preview of skills needed for jobs and an assessment of…

This book, which is intended for professionals in the assessment/evaluation/measurement, vocational and technical education, and educational psychology communities, contains 16 papers examining specifications of work force competencies and assessment of competencies. The following papers are included: "Review of Workforce Readiness…