Social-EmotionalSkills
LeadersoftheCOREdistrictsbelieve,basedoncompellingresearchandtheirownexperienceas
educators,thatsocial-emotional(SE)competencieslikeself-managementanddevelopinga
positive/growthmindsetareanimportantcomplementtoacademicpreparationinhelpingourstudents
succeedincollege,career,andlife.Anationalteachersurveyconductedin2013showsthat93%of
teachersthinkitisveryorfairlyimportantforschoolstopromotethedevelopmentofsocial-emotional
competencies.Furthermore,95%ofteachersbelievethattheseskillsareteachable,and97%believe
theywillbenefitstudentsfromallbackgrounds.
Inareviewofthemindsetsandcompetenciesthatpromotelong-termlearning,ProfessorCarolDweck
andhercolleaguesreportthatsocial-emotionalcompetencies“canmatterevenmorethancognitive
factorsforstudents’academicperformance.Thesemayincludestudents’beliefsaboutthemselves,
theirfeelingsaboutschool,ortheirhabitsofself-control.Indeed,thereisagrowingrecognitionin
education,psychology,andeconomicsoftheimportanceof[social-emotional]factorsinachievement
bothinschoolandinthelabormarket(Duckworth&Seligman,2005;Dweck,1999;Heckman,Stixrud,&
Urzua,2006;Steele,Spencer,&Aronson,2002).Therehasalsobeenarecognitionthatthesefactors
offerpromisingleversforraisingtheachievementofunderprivilegedchildrenand,ultimately,closing
achievementgapsbasedonraceandincome(Heckmanetal.,2006).[Thisresearch]showsthat
educationalinterventionsandinitiativesthattargetthese…factorscanhavetransformativeeffectson
students’experienceandachievementinschool,improvingcoreacademicoutcomessuchasGPAand
testscoresmonthsandevenyearslater.”1
TheCOREdistrictshaveprioritizedfourcompetenciesasaninitialsettoconsiderforinclusioninthe
SQII:growthmindset,self-efficacy,self-management,andsocialawareness.Thesefourcompetencies
wereselectedbasedonresearchabouttheimportance,measurability,andactionabilityofeach
competencyaswellasthelivedexperienceofeducatorswithineachdistrict.Wedonotbelievethese
fourcompetenciesrepresentacomprehensivelistofthesocial-emotionalfactorsthatsupportstudents’
successincollege,career,andlife.Assuch,weencouragedistrictstocontinueexploringother
constructsofinterest,whichCOREmayconsiderforinclusionintheSQIIortheCORE-wideformative
datasysteminfutureyears.
1
Dweck, Walton, & Cohen (2011). Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning
(2011). Paper prepared for the Gates Foundation.
Social-Emotional&Culture-ClimateDomain–Social-EmotionalSkills–LastupdatedMarch29,2016
Whywasn’tgritincluded?
“Grit,”whichreferstoperseveranceandsustainedinterestinlong-termgoals,comesfromthesame
familyofconstructsas“self-management,”whichreferstotheabilitytoregulateone’semotions,
thoughts,andbehaviorseffectivelyindifferentsituations.Inessence,gritisalonger-termmeasureof
thesameskillsrequiredforeffectiveself-management.Self-managementisbotheasiertomeasureand
hasalongerresearchbasedemonstratingitsimportantincollege,career,andlifesuccess.(See“What
researchshowsthatsocial-emotionalcompetenciesareimportant?”)Infact,AngelaDuckworthand
StephanieCarlsondescribeintheir2013publicationthat,ofthevarioushumantraitsthatpsychologists
andeconomistsstudy,self-managementisthetraitmostreliablyrelatedtoschoolsuccess.2
MeasurementMethod
Studentsingradesfivetotwelvewillbeaskedtoself-reportonaseriesofbehaviors(e.g.,comingto
classprepared,followingdirections)andbeliefs(e.g.,whetheritismoreimportanttobetalentedorto
putforthalotofeffort),that,takentogether,havebeenvalidatedasindicatorsofsocial-emotional
skills.
TheseinstrumentswerepilotedinSpring2014.OurplanistoconductaCORE-widefieldtestofa
refinedsetofitemsinSpring2015,settingabaselineforinclusionintheIndexstartingwiththe
measurementoftheseskillsinSpring2016.(NotethatdelayinginclusionoftheSocialEmotionalSkillsin
theIndexuntiltheSpring2016administrationwillrequireanamendmenttotheCOREWaiver).
2
Duckworth&Carlson(inpress)Self-regulationandschoolsuccess.InSokol,Grouzet&Müller(Eds.)Self-regulationand
autonomy:Socialanddevelopmentaldimensionsofhumanconduct,p.208.
Social-Emotional&Culture-ClimateDomain–Social-EmotionalSkills–LastupdatedMarch29,2016
StudentAssessmentItemsfortheSpring2016Survey
Social-Emotional:Self-Management1
First,we’dliketolearnmoreaboutyourbehavior,experiences,andattitudesrelatedtoschool.
Pleaseanswerhowoftenyoudidthefollowingduringthepast30days.Duringthepast30days…
1. Icametoclassprepared.
2. Irememberedandfolloweddirections.
3. Igotmyworkdonerightawayinsteadofwaitinguntilthelastminute.
4. Ipaidattention,evenwhenthereweredistractions.
5. Iworkedindependentlywithfocus.
6. Istayedcalmevenwhenothersbotheredorcriticizedme.
7. Iallowedotherstospeakwithoutinterruption.
8. Iwaspolitetoadultsandpeers.
9. Ikeptmytemperincheck.
(AlmostNever,OnceinaWhile,Sometimes,Often,AlmostAlltheTime)
Social-Emotional:GrowthMindset2
Inthissection,pleasethinkaboutyourlearningingeneral.
Pleaseindicatehowtrueeachofthefollowingstatementsisforyou:
10. MyintelligenceissomethingthatIcan’tchangeverymuch.
11. Challengingmyselfwon’tmakemeanysmarter.
12. TherearesomethingsIamnotcapableoflearning.
13. IfIamnotnaturallysmartinasubject,Iwillneverdowellinit.
(NotAtAllTrue,ALittleTrue,SomewhatTrue,MostlyTrue,CompletelyTrue)
Social-Emotional:Self-Efficacy(Global)3
Howconfidentareyouaboutthefollowingatschool?
14. IcanearnanAinmyclasses.
15. Icandowellonallmytests,evenwhenthey’redifficult.
16. Icanmasterthehardesttopicsinmyclasses.
17. Icanmeetallthelearninggoalsmyteachersset.
(NotAtAllConfident,ALittleConfident,SomewhatConfident,MostlyConfident,CompletelyConfident)
1
AdaptedfromPatrick&Duckworth(2013,May)Empiricalsupportforatripartitetaxonomyofcharacterinadolescents.Poster
presentedatthe25thannualconventionoftheAssociationforPsychologicalScience
2
Farringtonetal.(2013)BecomingEffectiveLearnersSurveyDevelopmentProject,ChicagoConsortiumforSchoolResearch
3
AdaptedfromFarringtonetal.(2014)BecomingEffectiveLearnersSurveyDevelopmentProject,ChicagoConsortiumforSchool
Research
Social-Emotional&Culture-ClimateDomain–Social-EmotionalSkills–LastupdatedMarch29,2016
Social-Emotional:SocialAwareness4
Inthissection,pleasehelpusbetterunderstandyourthoughtsandactionswhenyouarewithother
people.
Pleaseanswerhowoftenyoudidthefollowingduringthepast30days.Duringthepast30days…
18. Howcarefullydidyoulistentootherpeople’spointsofview?
(NotCarefullyAtAll,SlightlyCarefully,SomewhatCarefully,QuiteCarefully,ExtremelyCarefully)
19. Howmuchdidyoucareaboutotherpeople'sfeelings?
(DidNotCareAtAll,CaredALittleBit,CaredSomewhat,CaredQuiteABit,CaredATremendous
Amount)
20. Howoftendidyoucomplimentothers’accomplishments?
(AlmostNever,Onceinawhile,Sometimes,Often,Almostallthetime)
21. Howwelldidyougetalongwithstudentswhoaredifferentfromyou?
(DidNotGetAlongAtAll,GotAlongALittleBit,GotAlongSomewhat,GotAlongPrettyWell,Got
AlongExtremelyWell)
22. Howclearlywereyouabletodescribeyourfeelings?
(NotAtAllClearly,SlightlyClearly,SomewhatClearly,QuiteClearly,ExtremelyClearly)
23. Whenothersdisagreedwithyou,howrespectfulwereyouoftheirviews?
(NotAtAllRespectful,SlightlyRespectful,SomewhatRespectful,QuiteRespectful,Extremely
Respectful)
24. Towhatextentwereyouabletostandupforyourselfwithoutputtingothersdown?
(NotAtAll,ALittleBit,Somewhat,QuiteABit,ATremendousAmount)
25. Towhatextentwereyouabletodisagreewithotherswithoutstartinganargument?
(NotAtAll,ALittleBit,Somewhat,QuiteABit,ATremendousAmount)
7
AdaptedfromAIRandCASEL(2013)Studentself-reportofsocialandemotionalcompetencies
4
AdaptedfromAIRandCASEL(2013)Studentself-reportofsocialandemotionalcompetencies
Social-Emotional&Culture-ClimateDomain–Social-EmotionalSkills–LastupdatedMarch29,2016