Lexington One student earns state’s only Platinum+ certification
September 22, 2015
LEXINGTON, SC – After taking the ACT WorkKeys in spring 2015, Madison Bailes from Gilbert High School in Lexington County School District One earned the only Platinum+ certification in South Carolina.
Of Bailes accomplishment, State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said, “We’re so proud of Madison for being the only student in the state to earn this prestigious distinction, which less than one percent of students accomplish nationwide. She’s shown that students in rural parts of our state can achieve great success in the classroom.”
A job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce, ACT WorkKeys measures foundational and soft skills and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.
In the spring of 2015 in South Carolina, all students in their third year of high school took ACT WorkKeys, a job skills assessment for the first time. Students took three timed assessments in Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics and Locating Information. For Reading for Information and Applied Mathematics assessments, students could earn up to a seven. On the Locating Information assessment, students could earn up to a six.
Students successfully earning a score of three or higher on all three assessments could earn a National Career Readiness Certificate at either the Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze level, depending on performance. To earn a Platinum, students scored a level six or higher on all exams. To earn a gold, students scored a level five or higher. To earn a silver, students scored a level four or higher on all three exams. To earn a Bronze, students scored a level three or higher on all three exams.
Bailes earned a six on Reading for Information, a seven on Applied Mathematics and a six on Locating Information earning. She also took a Talent Assessment. The Talent Assessment is an employee-development tool that measures a candidate’s work-related attitudes and behaviors.
As a freshman, Bailes took engineering classes through the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Accelerate program and later took a class at Lexington Technology Center and other classes at Gilbert High which gave her a concentration in engineering, English, art and science. Bailes also took advantage of Engineering Camp opportunities offered by Michelin North America Lexington Site.
Bailes chose to graduate after completing her third year of high school. She attends Midlands Technical College where she plans to get an associate degree in science and hopes to attend the University of South Carolina and major in biology. Bailes would also like to get a master’s degree and doctorate in biology.
Out of 1,660 Lexington One students in their third year of high school taking the ACT WorkKeys in the spring, 92.0 percent earned a National Career Readiness Certificate compared to 87.9 percent statewide.
