Education Next – Martin R. West
“A growing body of evidence confirms that student skills not directly captured by tests of academic achievement and ability predict a broad range of academic and life outcomes, even when taking into account differences in cognitive skills. [i] Both intra-personal skills (such as the ability to regulate one’s behavior and persevere toward goals) and inter-personal skills (such as the ability to collaborate with others) are key complements to academic achievement in determining students’ success. This evidence, in combination with a new federal requirement that state accountability systems include an additional indicator of school quality or student success not based on test scores, has sparked widespread interest in the possibility of incorporating such “non-cognitive” or “social-emotional” skills into school accountability systems.”(more)