Why Academic Skills Matter

​Academic skills are one part of a set of foundational skills required for a large number of occupations and industries.  Academic skills include:

• Mathematics
• Science​​​​​​ and Technology
• Reading
• Writing

Having strong academic skills will help you:

• Have more confidence in the workplace or school.
• Complete a task more efficiently.
• Learn industry-specific skills.
• Perform well on tests that are given during the interview or promotion process.

If you need help learning these skills, or just need a little practice, many online resources are available.

Examples

Mathematics

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percentages.
• Calculate averages, median, standard deviation ratios, proportions, and rates.
• Convert decimals to fractions.
• Convert fractions to percentages.
• Take measurements of time, temperature, distance, length, width, height, perimeter, area, volume, weight, velocity, and speed.
• Use mathematical reasoning to solve word problems.

Reading

• Locate, understand, and interpret technical and general written information.
• Be able to identify main ideas, implied meaning, missing information, and trends.
• Combine what is learned from written materials with prior knowledge.

Science and Technology

• Understand basic scientific principles.
• Understand the scientific method (i.e., identify problems, collect information, form opinions, and draw conclusions).
• Understand the purpose and how to set up and operate equipment.

Writing

• Organize information.
• Use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, tone, and terminology.
• Develop charts and tables to support written materials.
  

Scenario Guides

If you’d like to quickly test yourself on these skills, check out our scenario guide. This guide provides you with a few example situations on the first page where you can write your solutions. Once you’ve done this, measure your responses against our answers on the second page.

You can find this guide in the “Documents” section of this article.