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Developmental and Equity Lenses: Critical Criteria for Framing, Implementing, and Assessing SEL

November 28, 2018 Inform

By: Dale A. Blyth This blog has previously noted the importance of SEL frameworks for implementation and assessment as well as the challenges and opportunities that come from the way we frame SEL efforts. The two latest briefs in our ongoing series of SEL Framework Briefs involve two critical criteria or lenses to use as we frame SEL – issues of development and issues of equity. We know children develop and change as they grow – and with that growth there is both consistency and change over time in the types of social emotional competencies they need to address the wide variety of developmental tasks they face in different contexts. Susanne Denham from George Mason University and a […]

Washoe County Schools Embeds SEL Assessment in their Climate Surveys

Washoe County Schools uses an SEL assessment embedded in their climate surveys. All students in grades 5-9 and 11 take the survey annually. It is administered online via a link on their website. Washoe County staff didn’t feel comfortable putting SEL scores on student profiles, so they focus on aggregate reporting. They report on SEL in a simple way: for each SEL domain, they report the percent of students who rated the competencies within that domain as easy or difficult. The data are publicly accessible on their website. The climate survey reports (including SEL data) are generated by a vendor. PDFs of overall school results are compiled with other data and given to schools. They developed survey items in part […]

Creative Ways SEL Assessment Informs Curriculum Around the World

November 14, 2018 Inspire SEL Assessment in Action

By Cherilyn G. Leet and Dr. Susan Stillman (Six Seconds) The results of SEL assessments can be intriguing, motivating, and tied to curriculum. They do not have to be dry, feared, or detached. In our experience working with educators from the Americas to Europe, from the Middle East to Asia to Africa, data from SEL assessments have the potential to imbue a school with life. When all stakeholders come together with curiosity to explore the data and wisdom that can be derived from SEL assessments, the insights gained can lay the groundwork for positive change. Strong SEL assessments can become the axles which bring the school’s curriculum design, behavioral intervention, parent engagement, and teacher collaboration into sync. The […]

Hoosick Falls Central School District Uses SEL Assessment to Inform Instruction

November 11, 2018 Inspire SEL Assessment in Action

Hoosick Falls Central School District in Rensselaer County, New York, has been using the Holistic Student Assessment (HSA) for 5th- to 12th-grade students since 2014. Each school uses physical education and wellness time to administer the survey, which takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Why did you choose the the measure? Our district began to incorporate social-emotional learning seven years ago and wanted an assessment that was student self-reported. The measure’s results dashboard allows teachers to view data trends at the student, grade and school-wide levels. This allows practices to be adjusted to be more responsive to students’ needs. How do you use the measure? Our schools use the data from this measure: To inform instructional practices. We examined […]

Finding the right assessment tool: Another resource for educators and researchers

November 7, 2018 Inform

By Laura Hamilton and Brian Stecher Last week, the Assessment Work Group (AWG) shared a preview of its new SEL Assessment Guide, which provides a catalogue of about 20 popular social and emotional learning (SEL) assessments along with guidance to help practitioners use these assessments effectively. Researchers from RAND are members of the AWG, and we contributed to the Guide and to the brief for practitioners that accompanied it, Choosing and Using SEL Competency Assessments: What Schools and Districts Need to Know. RAND has developed a companion tool, the RAND Education Assessment Finder. This web-based tool provides information about roughly 200 assessments of K-12 students’ competencies, including SEL competencies as well as higher-order cognitive competencies such as creativity. […]

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Blog

Developmental and Equity Lenses: Critical Criteria for Framing, Implementing, and Assessing SEL

Washoe County Schools Embeds SEL Assessment in their Climate Surveys

Creative Ways SEL Assessment Informs Curriculum Around the World

Hoosick Falls Central School District Uses SEL Assessment to Inform Instruction

Finding the right assessment tool: Another resource for educators and researchers

INFORM

INSPIRE

ENGAGE

CONNECT

Blog

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