There’s much interest in how schools can develop students’ non-cognitive skills, such as persistence and interpersonal skills, not just their academic prowess. In this study, Marty West and six other researchers examine the potential of schools to impact the development of four types of non-cognitive qualities: conscientiousness, self-control, grit (persisting through to a long-term goal), and growth mindset (the extent to which a child believes his academic ability can improve with effort, rather than being fixed). Analysts link self-reported survey data from nearly 1,400 eighth-grade students who attended Boston public schools in the spring of 2010–11 to student-level demographic and test-score data. Three key findings emerge: First, they find that all four measures of non-cognitive skills are positively correlated at the student level with achievement gains on standardized tests and with attendance and behavior. For the most part, however, those positive correlations disappear at the school level (the “paradox”). Second, students in overprescribed charter schools who typically post large test-score gains report lower-than-average levels on measures of conscientiousness, self-control, and grit. Analysts hypothesize that this is because many of these charter schools are academically and behaviorally demanding—and thus, these students are apt to rate themselves more critically given the context in which they are educated. Third, the authors find that students’ views on whether their academic ability is malleable or fixed is less likely to be influenced by their surroundings—perhaps because such notions are based on internal beliefs. Analysts close with a smart caution in the end: “In the rush to embrace non-cognitive skills as the missing piece in American education, policymakers may overlook the limitations of extant measures.” So yes, let’s measure a school’s impact on things other than test scores and attendance and graduation rates—but be aware that asking kids to rate themselves might not be the best way to do it.
Martin R. West, et al., “Promise and Paradox: Measuring Students’ Non-cognitive Skills and the Impact of Schooling” (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education, February 2014).
