Work Keys - Statewide and Community Adoptions

Statewide and Community Adoptions

Several states, communities, and cities have adopted ACT WorkKeys as part of their economic development or educational initiatives.

Illinois and Michigan have made ACT WorkKeys exams part of their state high school graduation requirements. Starting in 2001, two ACT WorkKeys tests, Applied Mathematics and Reading for Information, became part of the Prairie State Achievement Examination for all 11th graders in Illinois, along with the ACT Test. In 2007, the Michigan Department of Education made the ACT WorkKeys Reading for Information and Applied Mathematics exams a part of its Michigan Merit Exam, a mandatory exam for 11th graders that also includes the ACT Test.

As of 2006, 14 states were participating in the ACT National Career Readiness System and using ACT WorkKeys as part of that participation. Many states use ACT WorkKeys scores in their economic development initiatives, to demonstrate to business relocation prospects that their residents possess high job skills. These state initiatives include skill credentialing programs that are affiliated with the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate. According to ACT, 38 states were participating in the program as of 2011. The state of Kentucky issues a Kentucky Employability Certificate to adult education participants based on their performance on three ACT WorkKeys assessments: Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information. North Carolina issues a North Carolina Career Readiness Certificate on the basis of scores on the same three ACT WorkKeys components.

The South Carolina Department of Education requires some career education teachers to validate their competency in basic skills by obtaining specified minimum scores on the ACT WorkKeys assessments of Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Writing.