by Jackson Pelz
For the past five years, the WorkKeys test has been given out to high school seniors. It is a form of the ACT. The purpose of the test is to see and prepare high schoolers for employment. It is a system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop and retain a high-performance worker.
The direct definition of the test is a “Job skill assessment test.” It is divided into three separate categories; Reading for information, locating information and applied math.
“The types of questions that are asked on these tests are not things that you can just sit down and study for,” said Luanna Carter, the Career Technical Education counselor administering the test all over Transylvania County. “The test is measuring your thinking skills and your problem-solving skills. Things that you have to have prior information with.”
There are however, study questions on the ACT website that one can take to get a feel on what specific questions, or the type of questions that would be asked. For example, the following is a question that might be on the applied math section of the test:
In your job as a cashier, a customer gives you a $20 bill to pay for a can of coffee that costs $3.84. How much change should you give back?
- $15.26
- $16.16
- $16.26
- $16.84
- $17.16
Carter has some practice material that is available to all students.
“I do have some practice materials that I make available to seniors before they take the test,” she said. “Also, being a good High School Student prepares you just as well”.