The Academic Skills Assessments (ASA) assess the following Learner Strengths:

Study Strategies (STUDY)

Study strategies are behaviours specifically focused on reviewing and learning material, such as habitual use of mnemonics and other memory aids. These are study strategies that significantly enhance a learner’s ability to encode and retrieve information.

The STUDY scale principally assesses the learner's ability to develop a strategy and apply it, as well as to identify important information, make associations when learning, use a variety of resources when a concept is not understood, and use strategies for memory and encoding.

Note-taking and Listening Skills (NOTE)

Note-taking skills and text-marking strategies are specific learning strategies associated with the ability to distinguish between important and non-important information. Research examines the utility of not-taking both from the perspective of concurrent information processing and for the purpose of review at a later time.  Effective note taking involves reconstructing information in a way that is most meaningful to the learner. The usefulness of instruction in specific note-taking strategies for the purpose of improving academic performance generally has been supported.

The NOTE scale assesses the learner's ability to discriminate important information in the classroom, organize the note-taking process, and be efficient and strategic when taking notes. Listening to a lecture and writing down key points or even copying them from a board enhances the learning process for most learners over either activity alone.

Reading and Comprehension Strategies (READ)

Reading is an active, goal-directed, problem-solving process in which the reader’s task is to construct meaning from information contained in the text. Comprehension strategies include such behaviours as previewing texts, self-quizzing, and mapping ideas. Although instructing in this area is considered essential to academic success, it appears that very little instructional time is focused on it. Comprehension strategies are arguably the most important of learning strategies, and their mastery becomes increasingly necessary as a child progresses through school.  

The READ scale assesses the learner's ability to develop and apply an array of strategies that are known to improve comprehension and recall for reading materials.

Writing and Research Skills (WRITE)

Like reading and comprehension, writing and research skills are required for academic success as a child progresses through school. This area includes the ability to gather information from a variety of resources, develop an organized plan, integrate ideas, make appropriate revisions, and complete increasingly complex research tasks in a library or other archive information storage source. Children’s instruction in this area must go beyond traditional library skills instruction, which primarily taught leaners the use of the Dewey decimal system, to include the use of other resources such as those available on the Internet or audio/video materials.

The WRITE scale assesses the learner's ability to conduct research on topics, access and record the necessary information, and then organize the results and summarize them in written form.

Test-taking Strategies (TEST)

Test-taking strategies are specific strategies manifested as actual behaviours used while taking a test. Eliminating unlikely choices and learning how to allocate time between difficult versus easy items are examples of test-taking strategies. Initial information processing and preparative study activities are excluded from this area. Instruction in test-taking strategies has be shown to be helpful for any learner.

Unlike most of that SMALSI scales, which deal with how best to learn and acquire information, the TEST scale looks at methods for the successful demonstration of learning. Development and application of strategies for being successful when taking tests will result in improved performance. The TEST scale is designed to assess the learner's knowledge and application of strategies for test taking, such as knowing when to guess; how to eliminate unlikely answers; noting key elements in item stems; managing time, etc.

Organizational Techniques (ORG)

Organizational techniques are specific strategies used to organize learning materials, ranging from preparation before each class systematic recording of daily assignments. Basic techniques for categorizing and arranging learning tasks can be taught to learners in preparation for more organizational tasks.

The ORG scale is designed to assess the learner's practices concerning the organization of class and study materials, the structuring of assignments both in and out of the classroom, and the organization of homework.

Time Management (TIME)

Time management is a metacognitive technique that involves recognizing the most efficient ways to use time. This skill is often neglected until learner enters higher education, when he or she leaves behind parental supervision and at the same time confronts more choices as to how time will be spent. Mastery of time management skills in high school or earlier can have a strong impact on a leaner’s motivation complete tasks. This skill contributes to a sense of control and eases transition to progressively less structured learning situations.

The TIME scale is designed to assess the learner's skills in managing and using time effectively, in recognizing the time required for tasks, and in budgeting time appropriately across assignments.