Reading Skills--What Reading Skills? The Implications of Normatively Derived Reading Skills, in Certain Occupations, for Reading Standards.

The Generic Skills project is a research study being conducted in Canada to determine those overt and covert behaviors which are fundamental to the performance of many tasks and sub-tasks performed in a wide range of occupations. Data aimed at determining the needs for adult education and training have been obtained in two surveys. In the first, 340 workers and their 340 supervisors in 27 different occupations answered questions related to mathematics and communications skills. In the second survey, 490 workers and 480 supervisors in 37 occupations, 18 of which were repeated from the first survey, completed questions related to mathematics, communications, interpersonal, and reasoning skills. From the data, certain core skill requirements for work performance appear evident. All occupations require reading and listening at least the literal level of comprehension--reading forms and writing words/phrases on forms. Most of the skills of one-to-one conversation are common requirements and all occupations require instructional communication, the ability to demonstrate and instruct. Complete data are presented in tabular form and conclusions and implications are discussed. (TO)