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Power Skills Assessment Version 2.0 · 2026

Measure the power skills students build through experience.

Helping students recognize and articulate the career-critical skills they develop through internships, study abroad and other high-impact experiences, while giving institutions structured evidence of growth.

8 competencies · 16 dimensions

Developed in alignment with the NACE Career Readiness Competencies and informed by the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2025 skills taxonomy.

01 · What it measures

Eight competencies employers value

CulturaGo competency 1 of 8

Career & Self-Development

Using growing knowledge, skills and relationships to make informed career decisions and contribute effectively in academic and professional settings.

Mapping
NACE competencyCareer & Self-Development
World Economic Forum skillsCuriosity and lifelong learning; Motivation and self-awareness
02 · How the assessment works

How skills are assessed

Students complete the assessment before and after their experience. Each competency is explored from three angles.

  1. Behavioral question screen

    1Typical behavior

    Behavioral questions explore how students commonly approach situations.

  2. Scenario question screen

    2Applied judgment

    Scenario-based questions mimic realistic academic, workplace or community situations.

  3. Video reflection question and student response screen

    3Reflection & articulation

    Students draw on real experiences and practice communicating what they learned.

03 · Reflection & articulation

Helping students articulate what they learned

CulturaGo introduces the STAR-LEAP framework to help students turn experience into evidence. They describe both WHAT they did and WHY it matters for their career.

STARWHAT ・ Describe the experience
LEAPWHY ・ Identify its value
SSituation
TTask
AAction
RResult
LeLearning
ApFuture Application
04 · Research collaboration

Developing AI-enabled qualitative analysis with The Ohio State University

CulturaGo and The Ohio State University’s Translational Data Analytics Institute are developing and validating rubric-based, AI-supported analysis of students’ open-ended responses, evaluating evidence, reflection and articulation.

The Ohio State University, Translational Data Analytics Institute
Dr. Krishna Chaitanya Rao
Project led byDr. Krishna Chaitanya RaoProgram Director, Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University
  1. Step 1Student response
  2. Step 2Human-defined rubric
  3. Step 3AI-supported analysis
  4. Step 4Evaluation against human judgment
EvaluatingScoring consistencyHuman–machine agreementFairnessPrivacyVersion control
05 · Outcomes

Evidence students can use. Insight institutions can act on.

Pre/post patternsStrengths and areas for developmentPreparing evidence for interviews and applications
Power Skills Profile for a demo student, showing the pre/post Power Skills Map and overview

Power Skills Profile shown with a demo student.

06 · Development & validation

Built through established assessment-design methods

  1. 2023

    Foundational framework

    Initial competency framework established.

  2. 2024

    Early instrument development

    First question sets drafted and piloted.

  3. Spring 2025

    Version 1.0 launches

    First version administered with partner institutions.

  4. 2025–26

    Analysis and expert review

    Quantitative analysis, partner feedback and external expert review.

  5. Fall 2026

    Version 2.0 launches

    Rebuilt with competency-based design methods and rubric-led items.

  6. Next

    Formal validation

    Content-validity, usability and reliability studies.

07 · Contributors

Research, design and external expertise

With thanks to the professionals who have contributed to the Power Skills Assessment, across both Version 1.0 and Version 2.0.

  • Dr. Marcello Francioni

    Dr. Marcello Francioni

    Head of Education, CulturaGo

    Assessment design and item authoring
  • Dr. Elsa Maxwell-Bourdon

    Dr. Elsa Maxwell-Bourdon

    Former Director of Academic Partnerships, CulturaGo

    Assessment design and item authoring
  • Dr. Benjamin Selznick

    Dr. Benjamin Selznick

    Associate Professor and Advisor, Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership, James Madison University

    Expert assessment review
  • Judith Anderson

    Judith Anderson

    Founder, 5959 Solutions Inc.; former Director of Career Readiness, U of Minnesota

    Career-readiness and item-design review
  • Barnabas Suva

    Barnabas Suva

    PhD Candidate, Strategic Leadership Studies, James Madison University

    Expert assessment review
  • Dr. Richard Hall

    Dr. Richard Hall

    Senior Assessment Specialist and Adjunct Lecturer, School for International Training

    Quantitative data analysis
  • Dr. Kyle Nickodem

    Dr. Kyle Nickodem

    Director, Research Methodology Consulting Center, University of Minnesota

    Methodology and validation review
  • Dr. Krishna Chaitanya Rao

    Dr. Krishna Chaitanya Rao

    Program Director, Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University

    AI-enabled qualitative data analysis
  • Cynthia Engel

    Cynthia Engel

    Director, Career Design Center, Oregon State University–Cascades

    Competency definition review
  • Dr. Maureen Manning

    Dr. Maureen Manning

    Founder & Managing Director, The Global Nexus Collective

    Academic Advisory Board
  • Dr. W. Patrick Bingham

    Dr. W. Patrick Bingham

    Director, RAISE Center, Wake Forest University

    Academic Advisory Board
  • Dr. Mariam Raza

    Dr. Mariam Raza

    Director, International Recruitment, University of Guelph

    Academic Advisory Board
The Power Skills Accelerator

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