The Essential Skills for successful student transition to college postsecondary programming in order of priority are

• Reading Text
• Writing
• Continuous Learning
• Working with Others
• Thinking Skills
• Document Use
• Numeracy
• Oral Communications
• Computer Use

The survey elicited reasons for students’ poor performance as readers. In college postsecondary programming, the volume of text is a major factor. Nearly half of the postsecondary interviewees reported that students have difficulty handling the workload. According to interviewees about 75% of the students’ time should be committed to Reading Text in first year.

Information was also gathered about what types of texts students interact with in their postsecondary studies. Textbooks are used extensively as are reference materials and virtual text. Lecture notes have high currency in postsecondary.

The results for Numerical Calculation were less conclusive. No common patterns emerged, except that interviewees identified “perform calculations using measurements and quantities” as the most important skill. The list of numeracy tasks that interviewees offered showed an interesting mix of math applications.

Collectively, interviewees provided a comprehensive list of reading and numeracy tasks performed by students. These examples will be instrumental in designing learning and assessment tasks for adults transitioning to postsecondary.

Typical tasks in college postsecondary programs:

• read schematic diagrams
• navigate text books to locate information, e.g., write open book exams
• read MSDS files
• review newspapers for articles on environmental issues
• read technical drawings to understand systems and components
• use maps
• make speed regulator calculations
• balance budgets, calculate tax

Survey findings were summarized in a report which was broadly distributed. The report was also posted on the CSC website