Pathsmith™ was created by America Succeeds to ensure the development, demonstration, and validation of durable skills at every level of education and career. It transforms how students learn, teachers teach, and professionals grow—embedding durable skills into K-12 and postsecondary pathways, revolutionizing teacher development, bringing Portraits of a Graduate to life, and fueling skill-based hiring, professional upskilling, and next-gen assessments. Through robust partnerships with both education and workforce leaders, we’re working to ensure that every learner and earner is prepared to succeed as a contributor to their local community and as a competitor in the global workforce.
The downloadable Starter Edition provides a comprehensive overview of the Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework, featuring definitions for each of the 82 skills covered and a summary of each rubric domain at the applying level. This version grants you access to detailed definitions of associated sub-skills. The full Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework includes definitions for all skills at each level of performance – emerging, developing, applying, and exceeding.
The Pathsmith™ Durable Skills wheel is a visual tool from America Succeeds that sorts 100 leading skills into ten main competencies and corresponding sub-skills.
To access the full version, start by filling out the form at the bottom of this page. Following your form submission, our team will reach out to discuss your use case and pricing tailored to your specific needs.
America Succeeds partnered with Common Group, an equity and human-centered design firm, who conducted qualitative research with educators and students around the country who represent historically divested groups. Ensuring representation throughout the data collection process allowed for a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by diverse groups, and appropriate, people-centered solutions.
In 2019, America Succeeds began testing the hypothesis that all jobs require durable skills. We grouped a hundred related keywords into 10 durable skills competencies based on 21st-century skills research and analyzed more than 82 million job postings in partnership with Lightcast. Building on this work, we developed the Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework in four phases. Phase I involved subject matter experts defining the 110 competencies across four levels. Phase II and Phase III involved gathering feedback from businesses, educators, and other stakeholders on the rubric’s relevance across varying contexts. In Phase IV, we integrated all of that feedback into two versions – the downloadable Starter Edition and the full Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework.
During the Framework development process, it became apparent that selected keyword terms’ similarity could lead to ambiguity in distinguishing between competencies and their sub-skills. We addressed this by consolidating competencies and sub-skills where ambiguity could exist. Additionally, we identified equity concerns and proactively eliminated terms to prevent any bias or inequity. As a result of these provisions, not all 110 skills are represented in the Framework.
The Framework is the world’s first employer-generated, equity-driven set of shared definitions for durable skills. Having employers contribute to the creation of the definitions allows the Framework to better reflect the needs of various industries and to support more effective durable skill development programs. This approach also empowers job seekers to identify the skills they have and those they need, therefore benefiting both employers and job seekers alike. Please download America Succeeds’ “An Update on the High Demand for Durable Skills” report to learn more.
The Framework serves as a foundation for the development of future assessments and evaluations, although it is not currently a diagnostic tool. Ensuring equitable implementation features is essential to maximize the Framework’s benefits for a diverse range of individuals. For instance, implementers can enhance accessibility by tailoring assessments to account for regional resources, such as educator capacity or internet access. Moreover, tools based on the Framework should remain adaptable to address evolving access challenges and reflect the dynamic nature of the job market.
The ultimate goal of America Succeeds’ Pathsmith™ initiative is to ensure more individuals have access to fulfilling and economically mobile pathways for the mutual benefit of learners, employers, and their communities. We would be happy to connect to share additional resources or explore partnership opportunities. Please contact us to learn more.
In 2021, America Succeeds identified the growing demand for these skills and popularized the term “durable skills” with the release of our “High Demand for Durable Skills” report. We designed a national research agenda with CompTIA and Lightcast and built a unifying brand that resonates with policymakers, employers, educators, and parents. Today, our work continues to shape the market and guide conversations about the importance of these skills. Our Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework has influenced K-12 systems and post-secondary institutions in multiple states, and has been embraced by employers in both the public and private sectors as a key driver for skills-first hiring.
