Virginia’s Career
Readiness
Certificate
PRESENTATION SOURCES:
HTTPS://WWW.CRC.VIRGINIA.GOV/
HTTP://WWW.VCCS.EDU/WORKFORCE/CAREER-SEEKERS/CAREER-READINESS-CERTIFICATE/
The Governor-endorsed CRC is supported by the Virginia Workforce Council, Chamber of
Commerce, AFL-CIO, the Virginia Manufacturers Association and many Virginia businesses.
What is the Career Readiness
Certificate?

AN ASSESSMENT-BASED CREDENTIAL THAT PROVIDES
EMPLOYERS AND JOB SEEKERS A UNIFORM MEASURE
OF KEY WORKPLACE SKILLS

IT ASSURES EMPLOYERS THAT A JOB APPLICANT
HAS THE BASIC SKILLS THEY SEEK
What does the CRC
Measure?
The CRC is a standardized tool to assess the
competencies of potential and current
employees in the following workplace skills:
•
Reading for Information
•
Applied Mathematics
•
Locating Information
Why CRC?
There is a perceived gap between
skills required in today’s workplace
and the skills exhibited by potential
and existing employees.
Businesses are challenged to find
applicants who have the basic
skills necessary to be trained for
specific jobs.
Why CRC?
Businesses must be confident that their hiring criteria are:
1. valid for assessing workplace skills
2. are reliable predictors of workplace abilities
3. and comply with company policy and laws.
The CRC can help with this. Here’s how . . .
CRC is
based on
ACT’s
WorkKeys
ACT (formerly American College Testing)
developed the WorkKeys system for business
and industry as a reliable screening tool to
help employers identify the best candidates
based on candidates’ work related skills that
would best promote success on the job.
Job Profiling identifies the skills
required for a job.
Virginia’s Career
Readiness
Certificate . . .
is based on the three areas of ACT’s
WorkKeys most commonly identified by
Job seekers must
effectively communicate
to potential employers
the skills and abilities they
offer. In this way, BOTH
employers and job
seekers can use the CRC.
employers as critical skills for employees
to be successful on the job:

READING FOR INFORMATION

APPLIED MATHEMATICS

LOCATING INFORMATION
Why is CRC Valid?
Since 1995, 1,000 employers throughout Virginia
completed job profiles working with ACT’s WorkKeys
system. With analysis in hand, an employer now has an
excellent picture of the skills profile that is needed when
a new employee is hired and can screen candidates
using the assessments that were developed using the
same scale or metric as the profiles. Here’s one job
profile example for Nursing Assistants:
CRC Certificate Levels
CRC candidates may earn certification at one of these 3 levels:
Certificate Levels
The certificate level earned is based on the LOWEST score of the three assessment areas.
Bronze = score 3

Minimum score of 3
in all three
assessment areas
Gold = score 5
Silver = score 4

Minimum score of 4
in all three
assessment areas

Minimum score of 5
in all three
assessment areas
Example: If a candidate earns these scores:
Reading for Information = 5
Applied Mathematics = 4
Locating Information = 3
Certificate awarded is a Bronze (based on lowest score, 3)
On the back of the Career Readiness Certificate . . .
There is description of what each
skill proficiency means. The
image that appears next details
the Level 5, Gold Level, skills.
Sample Test Questions: Applied Math
The WorkKeys® Applied Mathematics test measures the skills people use when they
apply mathematical reasoning and problem-solving techniques to work-related
problems.
The examinee will be provided:
• A calculator
• An online, pull-down list of formulas that includes all formulas required for the
assessment
Answer = B
$20.00
3.84
$16.16
Level 4 Sample Item: Applied Math
Over the last 5 days, you made the following
number of sales calls: 8, 7, 9, 5 and 7. On the
average, how many calls did you make each
day?
A. 5.8
B. 7.0
C. 7.2
D. 9.0
E. 36.0
Answer: C, avg = 7.2 calls
2-step process:
To find the average:
1. Add the number of calls made on each of the last five days:
8
+
7
+
9
+
5
+
7
36
2. Divide the total by the number of days calls were made:
36/5= 7.2 calls
Level 5 Sample Item: Applied Math
Quick Call charges 18 cents per minute for long-distance calls. Econo Phone
totals your phone usage each month and rounds the number of minutes up to
the nearest 15 minutes. It then charges $7.90 per hour of phone usage, dividing
this charge into 15-minute segments if you used less than a full hour. If your
office makes 5 hours 3 minutes worth of calls this month using the company with
the lower price, how much will these calls cost?
A. $39.50
B. $41.48
C. $41.87
D. $54.00
E. $54.54
Answer: B, $41.48 (Econo Phone).
Quick Call:
Econo Phone
5 hours, 3 minutes
303 minutes
X .18 cents/min
$54.54 total cost
(5 hours converts to 5 x 60 min per hour, or
300 minutes)
The 3 additional minutes will be rounded up
to 15 minutes, or ¼ hour. ¼ is equal to .25
when expressed as a decimal.
5.25 hours
X 7.90 per hour
$41.48 Total cost
Sample Test Questions: Locating
Information
The WorkKeys® Locating Information
assessment measures the skill people use when
they locate, synthesize, and use information
from workplace graphics such as charts,
graphs, tables, forms, flowcharts, diagrams,
floor plans, maps, and instrument gauges is a
basic skill required in today's workforce.
Answer: B, PSI = 35
Level 4 Sample Item: Locating Information
You must sort clothes in a dry cleaning establishment
according to the customer's instructions. According to the
form shown, how should this customer's shirt be treated?
1. Dryclean it, add light starch, and fold it.
2. Dryclean it, add light starch, and place it on a hanger.
3. Launder it with no starch and place it on a hanger.
4. Launder it with light starch and place it on a hanger.
5. Launder it with medium starch and fold it.
Answer: 4,
Launder it
with light
starch and
place it on a
hanger.
Level 5 Sample Item: Locating
Information
As an airplane pilot, you need to determine the crosswind component of
the wind speed to ensure safe takeoffs and landings. According to the
graph to be shown, if the reported wind speed is 45 knots at a 20° angle,
what is the crosswind component, in knots?
A. 15
B. 25
C. 43
D. 45
E. 65
A. 15
B. 25
C. 43
D. 45
E. 65
Correct answer: A, 15
knots.
First, locate the 20 degree line on
the "Relative Wind Angle" scale.
Move along this line to halfway
between the 40- and 50-knot arc
lines. This is the 45-knot wind speed
point. From this point, drop straight
down to the "Crosswind
Component" axis to a point
halfway between 10 and 20. This is
the crosswind component, 15 knots.
GAP Training
To help prepare examiness for the
Virginia Career Readiness
Assessment, we have two online,
self-paced programs:
• ACT WorkKeys
• WIN Career Readiness Courseware
• Student setup is fast and easy.
• Both programs offer reporting
options for the case manager to
determine testing readiness.
ACT KeyTrain
•
ACT KeyTrain is an online training system to
help users reach foundational career
readiness.
•
Three of the ACT KeyTrain courses—Applied
Mathematics, Locating Information, and
Reading for Information—will also prepare
users for the ACT National Career Readiness
Certificate™, the national standard in
certifying workplace skills.
WIN Career Readiness Courseware
How Does the Virginia
CRC Compare with the
National Career Readiness
Certificate?
“The National Career Readiness Certificate is actually a result
of the success of Virginia’s CRC. The scoring criteria are
exactly identical and qualification for one is synonymous with
the other. An individual with a Virginia CRC can take that
credential and use it in any state in the nation that recognizes
the National CRC. Likewise, an employer in Virginia should
recognize a National CRC as identical to Virginia’s CRC.”
Source: https://www.crc.virginia.gov/Home/About
Governor Terry McAuliffe
explains the CRC . . .