Daniel Prince
WorkKeys scores improve in the district, while soft skills assessment scores fall
On Monday, the SC Department of Education released scores for end-of-course exams and the Ready to Work test. Ready to Work is a career-readiness assessment given to 11th grade students to determine student achievement in applied mathematics, reading for information, and locating information. It also includes the Essential Soft Skills assessment that provides information on problem solving, goal setting, decision-making, and self-direction, all of which play a vital role in workplace success. Statewide, 62.2% of students tested earned certificates. There are four certificate levels: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. To earn a bronze certificate, the student must score a minimum of 3 on all assessments. Silver requires a minimum of 4 in all three areas, while gold requires a minimum of 5 and platinum a minimum of 6.
Statewide, 27.7% of students earned bronze, 29.8% silver, 4.4% gold, and 0.4% platinum. In Union County, half of those tested receiving certificates. 33.3% earned a bronze certificate, and the other 16.7% earned silver. For the essential soft skills assessment, only 29.1% of students passed. The scores were down from 2021, when 74.7% of students received a certificate and 54.5% passed the essential soft skills assessment. Fewer students were tested in 2022 than in 2021.
More Union County students took the WorkKeys assessment this year, which has sections in applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace documents. 73.3% of students earned certificates, 31.8% of which were bronze, 26.4% were silver, 10.1% were gold, and 5% were platinum. Students scored highest in workplace documents, while average scores in applied math and graphic literacy were 3 points lower. Students scored better in 2022 than they did in 2017, the last time the WorkKeys assessment was given.