By Meghan McCormick
The Norman Transcript

Norman High School students will soon have an assessment of their job skills.

Norman High seniors took the WorkKeys System Feb. 10. Students at NHS are the first high school in the city to take the assessment test.

NHS principal Dr. Lynne Chesley said WorkKeys measures applied math skills, reading for information and locating information.

She said the career-ready assessment considers these skills important because 90 percent of employers have said people need these particular skills to be successful.

"We are really excited," Chesley said as she discussed the test's advantages.

She said the test is similar to the ACT exam. That's because ACT is in charge of the WorkKeys assessment.

Chesley called the assessment practical and said most teenagers take exams that are geared toward college readiness. Instead, WorkKeys identifies career skills.

She said the test broadens a teenager's experiences and prepares them for opportunities. Chesley has known about WorkKeys for some time.

"I want them to be connected to a world of work," Chesley said.

She said kids will benefit from thinking about skills they will learn at work.

"It's connecting the real world to what they learn in class," Chesley said.

Beth Jones, Norman Economic Development Coalition, said tests have been given at high schools in Lawton, Ponca City, Tulsa, Shawnee, Chickasha and McAlester.

So far, 20 Norman employers have signed up for potential employees to take the WorkKeys test.

People who take the test receive a career ready certificate, Jones said. The certificate points out skill levels.

"This certificate lists skills a person can do," Jones said.

She said NEDC has a WorkKeys Assessment Center. WorkKeys results are ready in about four or five weeks.

Norman Public Schools Director of Secondary Education Dr. Nick Migliorino said WorkKeys is one of the proposed alternative tests to the annual "End of Instruction" exams. High school students are required to pass a set of exams each year to earn a diploma.

"It will hopefully be an alternative for kids in the future who aren't successful on exams," he said.

Migliorino said the exams are free to those who utilize the program.

"It's an incentive to taking the test," he said.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.