The Ohio Skill Gap Initiative was conducted to determine the following: (1) what foundational skills--and skill levels--do entry-level employees need to succeed in today's workplace and (2) whether the students graduating from Ohio's public schools possess the foundational skills that will permit them to acquire the knowledge and "know-how" needed for successful entry into and advancement through the present and future workplace. The Ohio Skill Gap Initiative used ACT's "Work Keys" system to answer both of these questions. Jobs in ACT's national database that most closely matched the skilled entry-level jobs that will exist in Ohio's future economy were selected for the study. Data were gathered in four areas (applied mathematics, reading for information, applied technology, and locating information) through Work Keys assessments administered to 14,474 high school seniors at 119 schools. Findings were as follows: (1) Ohio has a significant skill gap; (2) college-bound students are well prepared for jobs requiring a high school education, but students who are not college bound are not; (3) jobs in scientific fields call for much higher skill levels than do clerical or customer-service jobs; (4) the skill gap is greatest where the skill is not included in the students' curriculum (applied technology and locating information); and (5) suburban and rural students showed higher skill levels than urban students. Recommendations were made for actions by educators, employers, parents, communities, and public officials. (KC)