WorkKeys® Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants
The WorkKeys® Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants provides a valid, field-proven way to boost elementary education in the United States, in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act.
Based on ACT's WorkKeys system, the certificate program takes a four-pronged approach. It enables paraprofessional teacher assistants in Title I-funded schools to demonstrate their proficiency in three content areas—reading, writing, and mathematics—as well as their skills in assisting teachers in the classroom.
Through testing and on-the-job observation, teacher assistants can demonstrate knowledge and skill levels in line with what is achieved in two years of postsecondary study.
The following states use WorkKeys testing for their paraprofessionals—Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. School districts in California and Montana are permitted to use WorkKeys to test their teacher assistants. These states have opted not to recommend any assessments for teacher assistants testing but are leaving it up to the school districts.
A proven solution
Affordable and easy to administer, the WorkKeys Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants system is built around our WorkKeys job skills assessments, which have been used by schools, businesses, and organizations for more than a decade to hire, assess, and train a qualified workforce.
Three validated WorkKeys assessments form the core of the program:
Examinees can take the three WorkKeys assessments via WorkKeys Internet Version or paper-and-pencil version.
Instructional Support Inventory
In addition, ACT offers a unique, structured observation component not found with other teacher assistant assessments. The Instructional Support Inventory is to be filled out by a knowledgeable observer who assesses the teacher assistant's classroom teaching skills. This observation component is similar to teacher evaluation processes used in schools nationwide.
Examinees who successfully complete all program components earn a certificate of performance. The Instructional Support Inventory and the WorkKeys Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants are ordered by test site administrators using the WorkKeys Materials Order Form. Both forms are provided in paper format only.
Ways to improve skills
The WorkKeys Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants offers another unique feature—the ability to identify skill gaps and guide training decisions to help teacher assistants improve their WorkKeys scores when necessary.
Computerized and online courses are available at ACT Center® locations and WorkKeys Solutions Provider locations—found at two- and four-year colleges around the country—as well as at one-stop career centers, Workforce Investment Act centers, and school-to-work consortia.
Find out more
Read the FAQ.
Then use the Information Request Form or call our ACT national office at 1-800/WORKKEY (967-5539).
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