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Making “Top 10” lists is common during this season, whether the list represents top 10 songs or movies of the year, the funniest 10 things your children said or your favorite 10 memories from the year. Here at SkillsUSA, we created our own Top 10 list of reasons teachers and administrators are choosing Skill Connect Assessments for their students:

10 - More than 40 assessments cover a wide range of technical areas, many of which are not served by other assessment providers
9 - Employability skills are incorporated into every assessment with one assessment devoted entirely to employability
8 – Previews before you purchase assessments eliminate your risk
7 - Affordable for any budget (Only $20 per assessment, or $5 for SkillsUSA members)
6 - Interactive, media-rich questions appeal to kinesthetic and visual learners
5 - Industry leaders developed each assessment and defined the cut-score
4 – Assessments meet Perkins IV accountability requirements
3 - Certificates are earned by students who achieve industry-defined cut-scores
2 - Easy to use, online assessments with text-to-speech capabilities
1 – Dynamic reports are available upon completion of each assessment

Contact us today for your complimentary preview or to purchase assessments. We look forward to hearing what you would add to our Top 10 list!

The November-December 2009 issue of Techniques magazine, published by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), recently featured Skill Connect Assessments as an “incremental solution” to the need for technical assessments. The article reflects the industry’s need to assure that job seekers have necessary skills to make them successful. “The assessments cover the totality of what’s needed at the entry level in that occupation,” said SkillsUSA Director of Communications Tom Holdsworth. Read the full article (PDF).

By field testing an assessment, you get a sneak-peek at the type of questions and competencies tested in each technical area. Review the list below to see if your area is ready for field testing, and then register online to be a field-test site. Field testing is free to you and is a great way for you to preview the Work Force Ready System and the Skill Connect Assessments. Each Skill Connect Assessment is customized by industry experts and used by students across the country to serve as an onramp to industry certifications.

Field testing will close at the end of January 2010, but we still need your help! Please review the list to see if you can help us complete field testing on any of these assessments. Keep in mind that your students may find a related assessment applicable. For example, if you teach commercial baking, you may consider field testing the culinary arts assessment. Assessments currently in field test are listed below:

  • Cabinetmaking
  • Computer Programming
  • Criminal Justice / CSI
  • Culinary Arts
  • Major Appliance Repair
  • Marine Service Technology
  • Mechatronics
  • Medical Assisting
  • Plumbing
  • Power Equipment Technology
  • Residential Wiring
  • Robotics and Automation Technology
  • Screen Printing Technology

The most up-to-date list of assessments available for field test is always available on the Work Force Ready System™ website.

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Also, check out our online newsroom for the latest media releases.

  

"Skill Connect Assessments are very current and interesting to my students. The questions reflect current technology in the industry."

-Michael Bade, South Salem High School, Oregon


Bruce Potter,
Program Specialist

Welcome back!

We hope you had a refreshing break from the school schedule and wish you the best for the 2010 year! We’re working hard to have all of our assessments – more than 40 in total – available to you by March 1, 2010. Our excitement about these assessments continues to grow as we hear positive feedback from the field. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please visit our website to sign-up for your complimentary preview, see a list of assessments, purchase assessments or register as a proctor. If you have additional feedback to share about how we can improve the assessments, or would like to share a testimonial for our marketing materials, e-mail us.