The Workplace Documents Assessment

Employees must be able to understand written text to do a job. The Workplace Documents assessment measures skills that individuals use when they read real workplace documents and use that information to make job-related decisions and solve problems. The documents include messages, emails, letters, directions, signs, bulletins, policies, websites, contracts, and regulations.

Number of items: 35

Method of delivery: Online and Paper

Test length: 55 minutes

 

What it Measures

There are five levels of difficulty. Level 3 is the least complex, and Level 7 is the most complex. The levels build on each other, each incorporating the skills assessed at the previous levels. For example, at Level 5, individuals need the skills from Levels 3, 4, and 5. Examples are included with each level description.

 

Level 3

Characteristics of Items

  • Reading materials include basic company policies, procedures, and announcements
  • Reading materials are short and simple, with no extra information
  • Reading materials tell readers what they should do
  • All needed information is stated clearly and directly
  • Items focus on the main points of the passages
  • Wording of the questions and answers is similar or identical to the wording used in the reading materials

Skills

  • Identify the main idea
  • Identify specific details
  • Choose when to perform a step in a series of short steps
  • Apply information/instructions to a situation that is the same as the situation described in the document

View Level 3 Sample Item

 

Level 4

Characteristics of Items

  • Reading materials include company policies, procedures, and notices
  • Reading materials are straightforward but have longer sentences and contain a number of details
  • Reading materials use common words but do have some harder words, too
  • Reading materials describe procedures that include several steps
  • When following the procedures, individuals must think about changing conditions that affect what they should do
  • Questions and answers are often paraphrased from the passage

Skills

  • Identify the main idea
  • Identify specific details
  • Use the information in the document to figure out the meanings of words or phrases that are not defined for them
  • Choose when to perform a step in a series of steps
  • Apply information/instructions to a situation that is the same as the situation described in the document
  • Choose what to do when changing conditions call for a different action

View Level 4 Sample Item

 

Level 5

Characteristics of Items

  • Reading materials include informational, instructional, policy, contracts, and legal documents
  • Longer passages that include multiple details and extraneous information
  • Documents may include unfamiliar vocabulary, professional jargon, and acronyms
  • Figure out the correct meaning of a word based on how the word is used
  • Apply technical terms and jargon and relate them to stated conditions
  • Written materials include conditionals (e.g., if-then statements)

Skills

  • Identify specific details
  • Infer the meaning of a word or phrase from context
  • Apply information/instructions to a new situation that is similar to the one described in the document while considering changing conditions
  • Apply information/instructions that include conditions to situations described in the document
  • Identify the appropriate meaning of an acronym, jargon, or technical term defined in the document
  • Apply technical terms and jargon to stated situations
  • Make inferences to accomplish a goal

View Level 5 Sample Item

 

Level 6

Characteristics of Items

  • Reading materials include informational, instructional, policy, contracts, and legal documents
  • Longer passages that include complex sentences, difficult vocabulary, professional jargon, and acronyms
  • Meaning of terms may be implied and their meaning will need to be determined from context
  • Extraneous details
  • Written materials include extraneous details and conditionals (e.g., if-then statements)

Skills

  • Infer implied details
  • Infer the meaning of an acronym, jargon, or technical term from context
  • Apply information/instructions to a situation not directly described in the document or to a completely new situation
  • Apply principles inferred in a passage to a situation not directly described in the document or to a completely new situation
  • Identify the rationale behind an entire document or a section of a document

View Level 6 Sample Item

 

Level 7

Characteristics of Items

  • Very complex reading materials
  • Information includes a lot of details
  • Complicated concepts
  • Difficult vocabulary
  • Unusual jargon and technical terms are used but not defined
  • Writing often lacks clarity and direction
  • Readers must draw conclusions from some parts of the reading and apply them to other parts

Skills

  • Infer implied details
  • Infer the meaning of an acronym, jargon, or technical term from context
  • Apply information/instructions to a situation not directly described in the document or to a completely new situation
  • Apply principles inferred in a passage to a situation not directly described in the document or to a completely new situation
  • Identify the rationale behind an entire document or a section of a document

View Level 7 Sample Item