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Transferable Skills

The Vermont Transferable Skills Assessment Supports (VTSAS) were developed as a part of a collaboration between the AOE, Great Schools Partnership, and dozens of Vermont educators, administrators, and curriculum leaders. VTSAS resources cut across academic content areas, and support assessment of the transferable skills articulated in Vermont's Education Quality Standards (EQS).

Educators use a diverse array of proficiency-based assessment tools to measure a student's comprehension of specific elements of learning. Unlike standardized tests that measure how well students have mastered specific knowledge and skills through a series of questions, performance assessments typically require students to complete a complex task, such as a writing assignment, science experiment, speech, presentation, performance, or long-term project, to demonstrate mastery of the topic. Educators worked collaboratively to develop common assessments, scoring guides, rubrics and other methods to evaluate student work.

Sample Transferable Skills Graduation Proficiencies and Performance Indicators

The Sample Transferable Skills Graduation Proficiencies are examples of skills that reach across content areas and meet the expectations within the Education Quality Standards.

Scoring Criteria

Scoring criteria provide rubrics for assessing VTSAS performance tasks, in alignment with the Agency's sample transferable skill proficiency-based graduation requirements’ performance indicators.

Task Models

Task models provide general guidelines for what a performance task should include if it is to effectively measure proficiency in a Vermont EQS transferable skill. 

Sample Tasks

Sample performance tasks reflect the structure and components of VTSAS task models. They provide schools with examples of tasks and activities that can be used to assess students’ transferable skills proficiency. 

Annotated Student Work: Clear and Effective Communication

Educators reviewed and annotated student work that assesses the transferable skill: Clear and Effective Communication. Copies of the student work without annotations are included so that teachers can provide an opportunity for students to use the scoring criteria to assess this work and become familiar with expectations for Clear and Effective Communication. 


Questions?

Email Pat Fitzsimmons or call (802) 828-5896.