FAQ

Listening for Understanding is a new component in the WorkKeys system’s suite of foundational skills assessments. The instrument prompts examinees to demonstrate their skills by listening to a recorded stimulus in which one or more people are talking and then answering multiple-choice questions about what they heard. Results reflect five levels of skill, ranging from understanding simple statements to analyzing complex discussions among multiple speakers.

Although the two assessments measure many of the same skills, the design, content, and administration methods associated with Listening for Understanding will differ greatly from the Listening test. Please see the comparison chart for more information.

The test includes 16 audio stimuli, two of which are presented for pretest purposes, and 28 items, 25 of which are scored. Three items are administered for pretest purposes and are not scored. Examinees are allowed 45 minutes to complete the test.

The test is available only through WorkKeys Internet Version.

A limited number of test forms will be available when the test is released. This means that examinees will not be able to retest until 30 days after their first attempt.

The score scale for Listening for Understanding encompasses five levels, ranging from Level 1 to Level 5. Higher-level scores reflect the skills needed to understand information that reflects higher levels of complexity. Like other WorkKeys tests, score levels build on each other and each level incorporates the skills assessed at levels that precede it. At Level 3, for example, examinees use the skills measured at Levels 1, 2, and 3. Lower-level skills are generally sufficient to understand information presented by a single speaker, whereas understanding information presented by multiple speakers generally requires higher levels of skills. Test items associated with higher-level skills require examinees to analyze information that is longer, more complex, and often indirectly stated.

The development of scale scores will require additional data, and these will not be available when the assessment is initially distributed.

• Skill-related benefits: Listening skills contribute to learning, job performance, and personal career development. Selecting employees based on listening skills or developing listening skills with training helps companies reduce the risk of miscommunication. This also helps companies improve their ongoing programs by ensuring that employees can understand job assignments and directions. It also helps to improve the effectiveness of training initiatives.
• Test delivery–related benefits: Computerized delivery enables immediate scoring of examinee responses, thus making the overall delivery process more responsive to client needs. Listening for Understanding does not require the use of external equipment, DVDs, or audiotapes. Tutorials, directions for examinees, and the timing function are integrated into the test package. Examinees will find the new test to be more user-friendly because the multiple-choice format eliminates the need for written responses, making the response mode more universally accessible.

The skills measured by the new assessment differ significantly from those addressed by existing job profiles, which means that the results will not align with existing data. ACT is now orienting job profilers to the new assessment to ensure that its content is incorporated into future studies.