ACT Holistic Framework

Literacy skills related to comprehension and capacity for use of written and oral language

Relating and transforming numeric and symbolic quantities, including applications to data sets, patterns, space, and change

Gathering and interpreting observations, experimental data, and disciplinary content knowledge in order to predict and explain phenomena

Contributing to group problem-solving processes

Using learning strategies to enhance comprehension, integration, and retention of learning

Using technology to acquire, evaluate, transform, and share information

Mastering modes of thinking that apply to broad classes of problems

Being sincere and truthful in interactions, appropriately giving others credit, and acknowledging his or her mistakes

Acting in ways that are intended to be unbiased and fair to everyone

Being humble about achievements, presenting a realistic view of himself or herself, and avoiding boasting or acting superior to others

Generating original ideas, using existing ideas or things in new ways, and having an active imagination

Seeking out information to better understand a wide range of topic areas and/or obtaining a depth of understanding in one topic area that goes beyond what is required

Adapting to new environments and making adjustments to accommodate changes

Being open-minded and accepting of ideas, cultures, and ways of doing things that are different from his or her own

The degree to which a person can control feelings of anxiety and other negative emotions in order to function effectively in a range of situations

A tendency to be self-assured and to make decisions without needing a lot of input from others

Influencing others and preferring to be in charge in social interactions and group activities

The degree to which a person expresses a positive mood and a positive outlook

Seeking out and enjoying situations involving interpersonal interaction and building relationships with others

Being respectful, polite, collaborative, and skilled at working through conflict with other people

Identifying, acknowledging, and understanding the emotions of others, showing concern for others, and considering the audience when providing information

Assuming others have good intentions, trusting others, being able to forgive and not holding grudges

Helping others and being generous with his or her time and/or resources despite personal cost

Tolerating frustrations presented by others or by situations without expressing irritation or hostility

Reliably fulfilling responsibilities, meeting deadlines, and producing quality work

Planning and organizing tasks and materials, creating schedules, monitoring progress, and paying close attention to details

Working hard, making progress on relevant tasks, and maintaining focus despite setbacks or difficulties

Following rules and procedures and complying with authority

Setting challenging goals, doing tasks without being told, and working to improve or learn new skills

Managing impulses and weighing the consequences of one’s behavior before acting

States of perceiving, feeling, or being conscious of oneself, education, work, and the gaps among them

Relatively stable individual differences in characteristics that contribute to one’s thoughts, decisions, and behaviors

Stable evaluations of people, objects, events, activities, and ideas that are manifested as feelings, beliefs, or positions

Anticipatory beliefs about the causes or consequences of education- or work-related decisions and actions (e.g., ability to positively influence one’s own occupation choice, belief that going to college will result in more job options later)

Confidence in one’s ability to complete specific tasks related to identifying occupation and educational goals and accomplishing academic or career tasks successfully

Specific information about the world of work and occupations, education, and training, and fundamental information applicable to developing and navigating one’s education and work path

Environmental events or conditions that facilitate efforts to develop and navigate one’s education or career (e.g., people who provide assistance based on their knowledge and skills, organizations providing assistance through programs and services, and people who provide reassurance and encouragement)

Environmental events or conditions (e.g., pressure from family, friends, expectations of peers, attitudinal, policy, financial, gender, cultural, physical, socioeconomic, access to resources, language) that impede progress toward one’s education or career goals

Activities, paid or unpaid, in which the individual gains knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are relevant to education or work

Process of recognizing individual and distinct characteristics that define oneself and using these characteristics in combination when evaluating education and career information and making education/career decisions

Seeking and processing education and occupation information guided by knowledge of the self (e.g., identifying specific occupations that are of interest to you)

Ideal, provisional aspirations or realistic and specified future education or career activities an individual wants to pursue

Process of making informed education- or occupation-related choices (using appropriate and effective decision-making strategies) under varied conditions (including difficulties related to indecision, a lack of certainty about one’s choice, and decision-making anxiety)

Degree to which an individuals’ personal characteristics are similar to or compatible with the corresponding characteristics of the chosen environment (e.g., college major program of study, occupation, job, organization)

Based on an individual’s education or occupation choice, thinking through and specifying the preparatory steps one would take as an informed consumer to achieve that goal; formulating a practical and realistic course of action (e.g., deciding on tasks and timelines, building strategies, determining and allocating resources)

Self-initiated behaviors in relation to others that facilitate understanding different aspects of the environment and further an individual’s progress toward education or work goals

Understanding and managing identified life roles

Self-initiated behaviors that pertain to seeking admittance to a particular education institution or employment at a particular work organization

Ongoing actions that take place to execute, monitor, and evaluate one’s plan for achieving goals (e.g., collecting and analyzing information to track progress, comparing one’s plan to what has been accomplished)

Extent to which an individual engages in ongoing behaviors to develop competence by acquiring new skills and knowledge and mastering new situations