Oklahoma Research Project Validates Impact of ACT’s Workforce Solutions

Oklahoma and ACT officials have teamed up on a first-of-its-kind research project to prove the value of ACT’s workforce solutions in the state.

“We want to empirically back up claims to employers, schools, colleges, and other entities that the WorkKeys system and the Oklahoma Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) are critical to postsecondary preparation and job performance and, ultimately, to our state’s economy,” said Debra Stuart, vice chancellor, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Stuart is co-chair of the Oklahoma CRC Research Committee, which formed in 2009 to study the effectiveness of the tools used to obtain the certificate and to provide research support to related advocacy committees. The committee is evaluating the usefulness of job profiling, WorkKeys^® assessments, KeyTrain^®, Career Ready 101™, and the CRC in preparing a skilled workforce.

The Oklahoma CRC Research Committee includes, from left, Pam Blundell, Lifelong Learning, Oklahoma State Department of Education (substituting for Stephanie Curtis); Levi Valdois, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education; Susan Kuzmic, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education; Chad Mullen, Oklahoma Department of Employment Security; Kelly Arrington, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education; Jack Reese, ACT/KeyTrain; and Rosemary Roelf, ACT. Committee members not pictured are Debra Stuart, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education; Jeff Wallace, Oklahoma Office of Accountability; Kirk Martin, Oklahoma Department of Commerce; and Tobin Kyte, ACT.

Members represent various agencies, institutions, and organizations that are responsible for advancing the Oklahoma CRC. Jack Reese, regional director for KeyTrain, is co-chair of the committee.

The committee is one of five such groups that are part of the Oklahoma CRC Planning Team, which is implementing the strategic plan of the Governor’s Council for Workforce and Economic Development.

The plan calls for the Oklahoma CRC to be recognized by the majority of the state’s employers as a valuable credential that confirms workers and applicants have essential workplace skills. Universal employer demand will communicate the high value of the certificate to students and job seekers.

This research is especially important to a state like Oklahoma, said committee member Susan Kuzmic, who is a CRC project specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. She coordinates the CRC for the state.

“Outside of our two metropolitan areas, much of Oklahoma consists of rural communities. We need research on credentialed individuals to attract new business and industry,” she said. “If Oklahoma is going to compete with other states for new companies, we must have data that demonstrate we have a workforce that’s ready for high-skill, high-wage jobs.”

The research committee recently completed its first project—a report developed from the database of WorkKeys-tested populations in Oklahoma. The report details the impact of KeyTrain and WorkKeys.

• More than 60,000 Oklahomans have taken three WorkKeys assessments—Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information—and earned scores comparable to those of people tested nationally.
• An analysis of Oklahoma WorkKeys scores identifies the skill deficiencies that prevent some test takers from qualifying for certificates. The two most significant are in Applied Mathematics and Locating Information. Such information is guiding educators and workforce professionals as they develop instructional interventions to help people raise their scores and earn certificates.
• Research identifies counties with high concentrations of residents who have earned certificates. Workforce and economic development officials are using this information to increase awareness of the certificate among the businesses and industries in those areas.

Other ongoing research committee projects include:

Employer return on investment

The committee is following up on a survey it conducted a year ago with employers who completed state-funded job profiles. It is collecting the same data this year to determine the employers’ return on investment.

KeyTrain use and WorkKeys scores

A recent study at the Canadian Valley Technology Center in Chickasha showed that KeyTrain improves WorkKeys scores. Faculty identified the WorkKeys scores students need to succeed in their programs. Students took WorkKeys assessments as pretests, and those not meeting the required scores used KeyTrain to improve. Students took WorkKeys posttests to measure gains. On average, 96 percent of students achieved the appropriate WorkKeys scores after using KeyTrain.

A study done on Claremore High School revealed that students’ skill levels improved 100 percent on Applied Mathematics and Reading for Information and 97 percent on Locating Information following KeyTrain use over a nine-week period. Claremore High School leads the state in providing credit courses that use KeyTrain and WorkKeys assessments as key components.

The committee is working with other Oklahoma schools to compare the WorkKeys scores of high school students who used KeyTrain to those of students who did not.

WorkKeys and college technical course success

An evaluation is under way on the use of the WorkKeys assessments to predict success in occupational courses and persistence toward completion at the state’s community colleges. ACT and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are collaborating on this effort.