Cross-Cutting Capabilities: Transferable Skills for the 21st Century

As the global economy transforms into a knowledge-based society with an enhanced focus on information and innovation, success will depend on the ability of global citizens to work effectively with knowledge and technology.

Working effectively with knowledge and technology requires thinking critically and creatively, solving problems collaboratively, using technology effectively, and understanding our capabilities as lifelong learners.

ACT includes these cross-cutting capabilities (CCCs) in the ACT Holistic Framework. The goal of this inclusion is to ensure that students have the opportunity to learn these skills, to prove their proficiency with them, and to improve in their use of them.

The ACT Holistic Framework was created to support a more comprehensive approach to defining the knowledge and skills required to succeed in education, careers, and beyond. The Holistic Framework includes core academic subjects (e.g., math, science, English language arts), social and emotional (SE) skills, skills required for successful navigation of education and career decisions, and CCCs.

CCCs are a collection of domain-general skill sets that, when used in concert with core academic knowledge and SE skills, empower learners to fulfill their potential as effective and creative knowledge seekers, communicators, and problem solvers. The Holistic Framework uses the term CCCs to focus on the role that these skills play in supporting the acquisition and application of knowledge across domains.

The Cross-Cutting Capabilities

The CCC skills included in the ACT Holistic Framework are:

  1. critical thinking
  2. creative thinking & innovation
  3. collaborative problem-solving
  4. information & communication technology
  5. self-directed learning

Defining and organizing these CCCs so they can be taught and measured is a critical first step that drives the design and development of learning and measurement tools.

Summary

The goal of the inclusion of CCCs in the ACT Holistic Framework is to ensure that students have the opportunity to learn these skills, to prove their proficiency with them, and to improve in their use of them. To do that requires the inclusion of these skills in the classroom.

These skills are not only transferable, they are durable in the sense that they have long been required for success in academics, the workforce, and beyond, and will continue to be in the future. Inclusion of these skills in academics, admissions, and hiring practices allows learners to share a range of their strengths that go beyond traditional core academics.