Columbia, S.C. – Today, State Superintendent of Education Molly M. Spearman made the following statement regarding positive student achievement on WorkKeys.

“I am pleased that nearly 88 percent of our students demonstrated work readiness in our first ever statewide administration of WorkKeys,” said Spearman.  “We have a great foundation to build upon as we prepare our students for success in the workforce,” concluded Spearman.  Learn more about the state’s Profile of the 21st Century Graduate, which was created by South Carolinians, to ensure our students are prepared for college, careers, and citizenship upon graduation. 

All 11th grade students in the spring of 2015 took ACT WorkKeys, which consisted of three parts: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information.  There were 48,613 students with valid scores on all three tests during the spring administration and 87.9 percent earned a National Career Readiness Certificate.  Here is the breakdown of certificates earned:

• Bronze: 25.1 percent (scores of level three or higher on all exams)
• Silver: 40 percent (scores of level four or higher on all exams)
• Gold: 22.1 percent (scores of level five or higher on all exams)
• Platinum: 0.8 percent (scores of level six or higher on all exams)

Here are the average scale scores for all three tests:

• Applied Mathematics: 77.4
• Locating Information: 77.6
• Reading for Information: 78.8

Each test was 45 minutes, with Applied Mathematics and Reading for Information testing 33 items each; Locating Information contained 38.

You can see this data at this link.

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