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Ability Areas

Ability Areas & Required Proficiency Explanation

Learn about the abilities which are most important for the selected profession. Do you need to be good with numbers or comfortable communicating your ideas orally? Do you need to be physically fit?

Each ability is given two scores of 0-100. The first score indicates how important a given ability is for success in the profession. The second score indicates the level of proficiency needed. The proficiency score is accompanied by a scale that helps you interpret the score.

Ability Area Scores

Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Cancel newspaper delivery by phone	Give instructions to a lost motorist	Explain advanced principles of genetics to college freshmen

Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Understand a television commercial	Understand a coach's oral instructions for a sport	Understand a lecture on advanced physics

Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Read dials on the dashboard of a car	Read the fine print of a legal document	Detect minor defects in a diamond

Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Understand signs on the highway	Understand an apartment lease	Understand an instruction book on repairing missile guidance systems

Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Call numbers in a bingo game	Make announcements over the loudspeaker at a sports event	Give a lecture to a large audience

Memorization
The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

Remember the number on your bus to be sure you get back on the right one	Recite the first names of the five people you just met	Recite the Gettysburg Address after studying it for 15 minutes

Number Facility
The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

Add 2 and 7	Balance a checkbook	Compute the interest payment that should be generated from an investment

Selective Attention
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Answer a business call with coworkers talking nearby	Monitor security TV screens for intruders throughout the night shift	Study a technical manual in a noisy boiler room

Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).