1Product of the 2014 ACT Better Linkages between Employment and Training InitiativeThe Better Linkages between Employment and Training Initiative is an initiative administered by the ACT Government under the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

Core Skills Profile for Adults AssessmentThe Core Skills Profile for Adults (CSPA) assessment is an online language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) assessment tool designed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). It is used to give an idea of a person LLN levels using the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). It is NOT an IQ test but it can be used to see if you need support to help you complete a qualification.

What is the ACSF?The ACSF is a tool that looks at the five foundation skills of learning, reading, writing, oral communication and numeracy requirements (RTO will only your assess the reading and numeracy levels). Below are simplified examples of the 5 ACSF reading and numeracy level requirements for the workplace;

READING INDICATORS BY ACSF LEVELACSF Level

Indicator

1 Identify personally relevant information and ideas from texts on highly familiar topicsExample: Follows simple written or pictorial instructions, e.g. simple signs and warnings, emergency stop procedures for machines, warnings such as ‘prohibited area’ and ‘wash hands before entering’ or safety symbols on chemical containers

2 Identify and interpret relevant information and ideas from texts on familiar topicsExample: Interprets instructions which combine pictorial and written information, e.g. directions on how to operate a piece of machinery safely or routine step-by-step instructions for logging on to an organisation’s computer network

3 Evaluate and integrate information and ideas to construct meaning from a range of familiar, and some unfamiliar, texts and text typesExample: Reads information of relevance to the work team and suggests how information may apply, e.g. changes to workplace procedures such as WHS over a period of time

4 Interprets and critically analyses complex textsExample: Reviews team members’ individual work plans and makes recommendations for skills development

5 Organise, evaluate and critique ideas from a range of complex textsExample: Reviews relevant national, state and local legislation and regulations relevant to the job role

Why only Reading and Numeracy?Only reading and numeracy have been chosen for pre-enrolment LLN assessment because your reading and numeracy skills are a pretty good indication of all the other skills. We also don’t want to give you too many tests!

2Product of the 2014 ACT Better Linkages between Employment and Training InitiativeThe Better Linkages between Employment and Training Initiative is an initiative administered by the ACT Government under the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

How does the CSPA Work?The CSPA assessment is an online assessment and it will measure your reading and numeracy levels. You will get 25 questions to answer for both reading and numeracy. When you finish you will automatically get a score of between 0 and 160. It will also give you a level between 1 and 5 that is explained in the tables above. This is what the levels mean:

Level 5: This means you are capable of writing complex legislation or doing a PhD

Level 4: This means you are capable of being a manager in a company writing policies and procedures or being a teacher in a high school. It is also the numeracy level required for many trades based qualifications.

Level 3: This is the Australian adult average for reading. You will have no problem completing most Certificate IV qualifications. You will have no problem handling the reading and numeracy requirements in most workplaces (but not trades like electricians!).

Level 2: This is the Australian average for numeracy. At this level you will most likely need support to help you finish a Certificate III qualification, especially for reading.

Level 1 and pre-level 1: This level is usually the level of non-English speakers or those that have had a lot of problems at school and did not complete year 10 in Australia. At this level you will need focussed LLN courses to prepare you before enrolling in a qualification.

How do we interpret the CSPA Student Report?After the assessment you will receive an individual student report similar to the one on the next page. The report will give you both a score between 0 and 160 and an ACSF level estimate for ‘working at’ and ‘exit’. The ‘working at’ level gives an indication of where you can sometimes study or work at, but not consistently, and the ‘exit’ level is where the you can comfortably study or work at.

See below for a real example of a CSPA Student Reading Report.

This example shows the student has recorded a CSPA reading score of 119. If you look at the descriptors on the following page then you will see it is just on the cusp of exit level 4. The level score is therefore estimated at ‘working level 4/exit level 3’. This indicates that the student is well capable

CSPA reading score of 119

Working level 4/exit level 3

3Product of the 2014 ACT Better Linkages between Employment and Training InitiativeThe Better Linkages between Employment and Training Initiative is an initiative administered by the ACT Government under the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

of handling the reading requirements in Certificates III and IV qualifications as well as most diplomas. It is most likely that as reading become less familiar outside of the comfort zone, then additional LLN support would be needed. For the student in this example, the “uncomfort” zone would probably be in Advanced Diploma and higher qualifications.

4Product of the 2014 ACT Better Linkages between Employment and Training InitiativeThe Better Linkages between Employment and Training Initiative is an initiative administered by the ACT Government under the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

This example shows the student has recorded a CSPA numeracy score of 117 which also means the student is at ‘working level 4/exit level 3’. This also indicates that the student is well capable of handling the numeracy requirements of typical UOCs in Community Service Certificate III qualifications. As mentioned earlier, however, caution must be advised if you want to study in certain trades based qualifications. UEPOPS301B Conduct single energy source isolation procedures for permit to work, which is from the Certificate III in Electricity Supply Industry Generation, requires knowledge and understanding of the laws of thermodynamics and mechanical/kinetic energy. This would require a numeracy exit level of 4 or above. Qualifications like this have historically low non-completion rates because of numeracy requirements.

CSPA reading score of 117

Working level 4/exit level 3

5Product of the 2014 ACT Better Linkages between Employment and Training InitiativeThe Better Linkages between Employment and Training Initiative is an initiative administered by the ACT Government under the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

6Product of the 2014 ACT Better Linkages between Employment and Training InitiativeThe Better Linkages between Employment and Training Initiative is an initiative administered by the ACT Government under the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

Appendix A.ACSF Mapping Guide from the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CSHISC) for units included in Certificate III in Aged Care.

As you can see, all the units only require ACSF level 2 for reading and numeracy, while some require ACSF level 3 for learning and oral communication.