Effectiveness of WorkKeys Curriculum for Improving Foundational Workplace Skills: Nevada State High School Case Study. Technical Brief

This study sought to estimate the potential benefits of using ACT® WorkKeys® Curriculum to improve foundational workplace skills and subsequent performance on the ACT® WorkKeys® Applied Math, Workplace Documents, and Graphic Literacy assessments. Students at Nevada State High School (NSHS) took the WorkKeys Assessments before and after using ACT WorkKeys Curriculum. Using data from the supervisor dashboard, students were classified as engaged or unengaged in lessons, practice questions, and quizzes included in WorkKeys Curriculum. Overall, students who engaged meaningfully with WorkKeys Curriculum were expected to have greater score gains and were more likely to increase their WorkKeys level scores. In particular, students who engaged in Applied Math practice questions had significantly greater scale score gains than unengaged students, and students who exhibited overall engagement in the Applied Math and Workplace Documents modules were more likely to increase their corresponding level scores. Engagement in WorkKeys Curriculum was related to performance improvements for Graphic Literacy but not to a statistically significant degree.