Pre-service training has provided educators with methods for teaching and assessing academic skills for years. While it’s hardly the only task a teacher performs, academic instruction and assessment remain at the core of classroom teaching.
In recent years, though, the PreK-12 landscape has increasingly recognized the need to teach non-academic, human skills that support learning and success in and out of the classroom. With ample evidence of their correlation with stronger academic outcomes, better attendance, and improved engagement, many school districts and US states have embraced human skills instruction and embedded it into guiding frameworks such as a Portrait of a Graduate.
While skills like self-awareness, adaptability, and effective communication have made their way onto posters adorning school hallways nationwide, many districts have struggled to get them out of a vision and into practice—particularly for older grade levels, where a heavy focus on academics and college preparation is more common. A key piece of the puzzle missing for these districts is an assessment function that helps educators make data-informed instructional decisions.
We know we need formative and summative assessments to track students’ academic growth and intervene to support their needs. The same can be said for the non-academic skills and mindsets that support learning. Based on our years of supporting schools and districts with exactly this type of skill assessment, monitoring, and data-driven human skill instruction, here are some of our best practices for K-12 educators and leaders.
The short answer to this question is clear: measure the skills you set out to teach. For the many US states and districts that have embedded human skills into learning goals, these skills usually include some version of Wayfinder’s six Core Skills:
Read more about the research behind these skills and the impact they make on student preparation and well-being here.
The how of this process is the part that presents the most challenges. Educators have far fewer human skill assessment models to consider than they have academic assessment models. However, the process and components for measuring these skills look largely the same as academic skill assessment:
Though the content differs from traditional school assessments, the practice remains the same. In following this familiar structure, educators, counselors, and administrators can make data-informed decisions about student well-being and plan timely, effective interventions when needed to support student success.
Learn more about intervention planning and access resources with Wayfinder:
Just as academic performance data helps drive achievement in school, data on students’ personal development can support success in and out of the classroom. But what does this look like on a functional level? It depends on the existing structures and practices in any given place. Here are a few common ways we see our partners put it to work:
Student success frameworks—often called Portrait of a Graduate, Vision of a Learner, Profile of a Graduate, or similar—help outline the skills and capabilities students should be able to demonstrate upon graduation. They can be complex to create—ideally involving input from educators, students, parents, and stakeholders across a district—but they’re often even more challenging to put into practice. However, using reliable data collection practices can help ensure that the skills outlined in a Portrait of a Graduate are actually being taught across classrooms and grade levels.
Using tools like Wayfinder’s Portrait of a Graduate feature, districts can tie their Portrait’s skills to assessments to track student progress over time. With customizable functionalities and dashboards, leaders can access all of the information they need to help teachers and counselors guide students toward success. They can even receive research-backed content recommended by assessment data, tailored to student needs.
Learn more about aligning student assessment data with your student success framework:
When districts use more than just standardized test data to measure student development, they get a much clearer, more holistic view of student learning. Classrooms become better able to promote belonging and guide purpose, teachers are empowered to be instructional leaders, and students build skills to achieve in school and beyond.
Read more about Wayfinder’s assessment suite Waypoints here or schedule a demo to learn more about how student data can boost outcomes in your school or district.
Q: Which non-academic skills should schools measure?
Schools should measure any skills mentioned in a school success framework such as a Portrait of a Graduate, Vision of a Learner, or Graduate Profile. Common non-academic skills mentioned in such frameworks include:
Q: How can students demonstrate progress toward non-academic skill development?
To show the progress they’ve made in their personal development, students can reflect on their growth in the skills outlined in a Portrait of a Graduate and present it as part of a portfolio or capstone project.
Q: Why does student belonging matter for academic success?
A: Research shows that students who feel a sense of belonging are more engaged, more resilient, and achieve stronger academic outcomes. Waypoints data helps schools systematically measure and strengthen future-ready skills, belonging, and purpose.