Workplace Essential Skills - U.S. Department of Labor

[Pages:556]WORKPLACE ESSENTIAL SKILLS:

RESOURCES RELATED TO THE SCANS COMPETENCIES AND FOUNDATION SKILLS

PRESENTED TO: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

By: ACT, INC. 2201 North Dodge Street P.O. Box 168 Iowa City, Iowa 52243

Workplace Essential Skills: Resources Related to the SCANS Competencies and Foundation Skills

U.S. Department of Labor Alexis M. Herman, Secretary

Employment and Training Administration Raymond L. Bramucci, Assistant Secretary

Office of Policy and Research Gerard F. Fiala, Administrator

Office of Policy and Research Robert J. Litman, Deputy Administrator

U.S. Department of Education Richard W. Riley, Secretary

Office of Educational Research and Improvement C. Kent McGuire, Assistant Secretary

Office of Vocational and Adult Education Patricia W. McNeil, Assistant Secretary

National Center for Educational Statistics Andrew J. Kolstad, Senior Technical Advisor

Office of Vocational and Adult Education Cynthia L. Brown, Senior Policy Analyst

August 2000

For More Information

Questions or inquiries regarding this report should be directed to:

ACT, Inc. Workforce Development Division 2255 North Dubuque Road P.O. Box 168 Iowa City, Iowa 52243-0168 (319) 337-1047

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Workplace Competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Resources Allocates Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Allocates Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Allocates Materials and Facility Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Allocates Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Information Acquires and Evaluates Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Organizes and Maintains Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Interprets and Communicates Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Uses Computers to Process Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Interpersonal Participates as a Member of a Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Teaches Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Serves Clients/Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Exercises Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Negotiates to Arrive at a Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Works with Cultural Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Systems Understands Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Monitors and Corrects Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Improves and Designs Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Technology Selects Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Applies Technology to Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Maintains and Troubleshoots Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

vii

Foundation Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Basic Skills Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Arithmetic and Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Listening and Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Thinking Skills Creative Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Knowing How to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Personal Qualities Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Self-Esteem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Social . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Self-Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Integrity/Honesty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Appendix A: Summary of Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

SCANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3 O*NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9 AccuVision Workplace Success Skills System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-18 AON Consulting Survey of Human Resource Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-19 Arizona Workplace Skills Standards (Draft) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-20 Assessing Literacy in the Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-23 ASTD Update: Basic Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-23 Australia's Key Competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-23 Basic Skill Requirements for Selected Army Occupational Training Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-25 Basic Skills in the U.S. Workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-27 Bottom Line: Basic Skills in the Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-29 California Career-Technical Assessment Project (CTAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-29 Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers' Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-30 Chatham-Savannah Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-30 Colorado Department of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-33 Consensus Framework for Workplace Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-35 Employability Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-38 Employer's Choice in the Job Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-38 Equipped for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-39 Fort Worth: Project C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-42 Fourth R: Workforce Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-43 Framework for Developing Skill Standards for Workplace Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-43 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-45 Getting a Job after College - What Skills Are Needed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-46

viii

High School Curriculum Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-47 High Schools and the Changing Workplace: The Employer's View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-47 Investing in Our Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-49 Job Skills for the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-49 Kansas Business Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-50 Kansas Competency Index of Workplace Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-50 Kentucky Council on School Performance Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-51 Mexico's Occupational Analysis Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-54 Michigan Employability Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-61 National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-62 New Standards Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-62 New York State Education Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-64 New Zealand's Essential Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-65 Norback Job Literacy Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-65 PLATO Learning System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-66 Project BEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-66 Quality of American High School Graduates: What Personnel Officers Say and Do about It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-66 Skill Demand, Changing Work Organization, and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-67 Survey of Employers in Los Angeles and Torrance, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-67 Survey of San Francisco Employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-67 Teaching the New Basic Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-68 Texas Workplace Skills Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-68 Training America: Strategies for the Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-68 Vocational-Technical Consortium of States (VTECS)/Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-69 Washington Basic Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-71 Washington Workplace Competency Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-72 Work Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-75 Workforce Development Region IX Needs Assessment Survey Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-77 Workforce LA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-78 Workplace Basics (Carnevale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-78 Young People's Participation in Post-Compulsory Education and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-79

Appendix B: Crosswalk Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

SCANS to O*NET Framework Crosswalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3 SCANS Scales to O*NET Scales Crosswalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20 O*NET to SCANS Crosswalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-31

Appendix C: Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1 Adult Basic Learning Examination, Second Edition (ABLE) 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3

Applicant Review (1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5 Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS) 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7 Basic Skills Tests (BST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9 Comprehensive Ability Battery (CAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-11 Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-13 Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-15 Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-17 Differential Aptitude Tests?, Fifth Edition (DAT?) 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-19

Employee Aptitude Survey (EAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-21

Flanagan Aptitude Classification Tests (FACT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-23

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Flanagan Industrial Tests (FIT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-26 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Applied Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-29 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-31 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Fluency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-33 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-35 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Numerical Proficiency Assessment (NPA) . . . . . C-37 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-39 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-41 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Reading Comprehension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-43 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Verbal Proficiency Assessment (VPA) . . . . . . . . C-45 Industrial Psychology International, Ltd. ? Workplace Skills Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-47 PDI Employment Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-49 Professional Employment Test (PET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-51 SRA? Reading-Arithmetic Index (RAITM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-53 TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education) 7&8 Complete Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-55 TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education) 7&8 Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-58 TABE Work-Related Foundation Skills (TABE-WF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-61 TABE Work-Related Problem Solving (TABE-PS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-63 Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal?, Forms A and B (WGCTA), 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . C-65 Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-67 Work Keys? Applied Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-69 Work Keys? Applied Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-71 Work Keys? Listening & Writing: Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-73 Work Keys? Locating Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-75 Work Keys? Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-77 Work Keys? Reading for Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-79 Work Keys? Teamwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-81 Work Keys? Listening & Writing: Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-83

Appendix D: Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1 Effective Practices for Teaching Essential Workplace Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3

Part I: Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-5 Part II: Effective Teaching and Training Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-12 Part III: Case Study Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-20 Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-25

Work-Based Learning in Boston, Massachusettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-27 Horizonte Instructin and Training Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-40 Long Beach City College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-48 North Clackamas School District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-57 Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-69 YouthBuild Rockford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-78

Appendix E: Technical Panel Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1

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This report provides the results of a comparison between the workplace basic skills defined by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) and skill frameworks developed by a variety of national and international organizations. The comparison found a great degree of commonality in the skill definitions. Therefore, the research yielded a comprehensive common language for the discussion and examination of workplace basic skills. The report is intended to serve as a guide for human resources personnel, trainers, educators, and researchers who are interested in workplace basic skills training.

This research also expanded the applicability of the skill definitions by developing behaviorallyanchored scales for each skill. These scales can serve as a common standard and reference point for workers, employers, trainers, educators, and program administrators as they consider work-related activities including the following:

? Identifying the skills and skill levels required for employment ? Approximating the skill levels of current or future workers ? Identifying the skill development that will help match workers to job requirements ? Describing individual skills as part of a job transition process ? Identifying valid assessments for measuring workplace readiness ? Using a hierarchical taxonomy of skills for facilitating the development of individual

training plans, and for preparing and developing employment training programs

O*NET is currently being developed by the U.S. Department of Labor to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT, U.S. Department of Labor, 1991). Because O*NET is a major framework for describing workplace skills, this report provides crosswalks and links from the SCANS skill definitions and scales to relevant O*NET skill definitions and scale anchors. The O*NETSCANS crosswalks facilitate an understanding of the features that are shared by the two frameworks and that are central to current U.S. workforce-related educational and training initiatives.

The attainment of workplace readiness skills is a core element of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). States and local areas are required to provide workforce preparation and training for adults and youth to meet the requirements of WIA Title I, Adult Education and Family Literacy, and Perkins Vocational and Technical Education programs. They need to measure workplace readiness, basic, academic, and technical skills in order to improve programs and support their accountability systems for assessing participant performance. They can use this report as a reliable reference as they develop standards and identify workplace competency assessments.

The synthesis of the workplace essential skill definitions, skill level descriptions, and associated assessments provided in this report, represent a "roadmap" for states that are incorporating workplace readiness skills into their vocational and technical education or adult education programs. Local providers of workforce investment services, vocational and technical education, and adult education will also find these frameworks and assessments useful to their local program development and improvement goals.

Workplace Essential Skills

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