Future-Ready
Durable Skills (FRDS): A Developmental Assessment of Career Readiness
Capturing key information about developmentally appropriate capacities that reflect what youth need to navigate the modern world of work. This survey will be available for use Summer 2026.
What Makes the Future-Ready Durable Skills Unique
Student Voice
The FRDS centers student perspectives by asking students directly about their own experiences, strengths, and workforce preparation.
Focused on Whole Child
Uses the Clover Model of Youth Development to provide a complete view of career readiness, connecting developmental resilience directly to workforce preparation.
Actionable Data
Data identifies strengths and challenges of students that can guide continuous improvement cycles.
Easy Administration
Simple online administration with real-time results
Why Use the Future-Ready Durable Skills
What Does the Future-Ready Durable Skills
Assess?
This tool is grounded in rigorous research, including a national scan of 21st-century skills, frameworks and, employer expectations. From that research, PEAR identified a core set of developmentally appropriate domains, such as belonging, reflection, active engagement, assertiveness, and innovation and adaptability. These domains reflect what young people need to navigate the modern world of work and are made up of the scales listed below. The scales in this assessment are built off of scales previously validated by PEAR.
The ability to form and maintain positive, purposeful relationships with individuals.
Building Professional
Connections
The enjoyment of working in a group and the belief that collaboration strengthens outcomes.
Teamwork
The ability to recognize one’s own strengths and challenges.
Self-
Awareness
The ability to reflect on successes and failures—and use that insight to grow personally and professionally.
Reflective Learning
The ability to stay calm, composed, and open when faced with change, unpredictability or competing demands.
Self
Regulation
The ability to use time effectively to meet goals or deadlines, including planning ahead, prioritizing tasks, and managing responsibilities.
Time Management
The ability to confidently express ideas, needs, or opinions in a way that influences others, while remaining respectful.
Persuasive
Communication
The ability to follow through on commitments, own one’s actions, and be dependable in meeting expectations.
Responsibility
The ability to shift one’s approach or mindset when circumstances or information change.
Flexibility/
Agility
The ability to pause before reacting and manage immediate impulses in order to stay focused and act intentionally.
Impulse Control