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Inthefollowingreport,HanoverResearchexaminesbestpracticesinmeasuringsoftskills,such as teamwork, creativity, and character, with a focus on soft skill assessmentsembeddedintothecoreacademiccurriculum.

Best Practices in Soft Skills Assessment

February2014

Hanover Research | February 2014

2014 Hanover Research | District Administration Practice 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS ExecutiveSummaryandKeyFindings................................................................................3INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3KEYFINDINGS.............................................................................................................................3

SectionI:BestPracticesinSoftSkillsAssessment..............................................................5IMPACT.....................................................................................................................................5ASSESSMENTANDCURRICULUM.....................................................................................................6ASSESSMENTCHALLENGES............................................................................................................8ASSESSMENTANDREPORTINGSCHEMES........................................................................................10StandardsBasedReportCards........................................................................................10PortfolioAssessment.......................................................................................................11Badges..............................................................................................................................12

SectionII:Profiles............................................................................................................14CATALINAFOOTHILLSSCHOOLDISTRICT.........................................................................................14PLYMOUTHHIGHSCHOOL...........................................................................................................16NEWTECHNOLOGYHIGHSCHOOL................................................................................................18



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS INTRODUCTIONNationwide,educatorshavegrown increasinglyawareofthe importantrolethatsoftskillsplay in ensuring students are adequately prepared to enter college and theworkforce.Unfortunately,however,traditional instructionandassessmentdonotalwaysprovidetheappropriate tools for developing and measuring student success outside of traditionalacademicsubjectareas.This reportexamines these issues insoftskillsassessmentwithafocus on assessment strategies that may be successfully embedded within the coreacademiccurriculum.

Section I:BestPractices in Soft SkillsAssessmentbrieflydescribes the impactofsoftskills instructionandassessment,discussestherelationshipbetweensoftskillsassessment and the core academic curriculum, examines common challenges toassessingsoftskills,anddescribesthreealternativereportingschemesfortrackingstudentprogressinthedevelopmentofsoftskills.

SectionII:Profilesdescribesassessmentpracticesimplementedbythreeexemplarsinsoftskillsinstructionandassessment:CatalinaFoothillsSchoolDistrictinTucson,Arizona,PlymouthHighSchool inPlymouth,Wisconsin,andNewTechnologyHighSchoolinNapaValley,California.

KEYFINDINGS

Soft skills assessment is highly dependent upon the core academic curriculum.Researchersandeducatorsagreethatsoftskillsinstructionshouldbeembeddedinthe core curriculum, and, as a result, assessment practicesmust also alignwiththoseof theacademic curriculum.Districtsand schoolswitha focuson soft skillsmayassessspecificsoftskillsastheyapplytoindividualsubjectareasorassessasetofcommonsoftskillsthatapplyacrossallsubjectareas.Aprojectbasedcurriculumpermits simultaneous instruction and assessment in both the core academiccurriculumandinarangeofsoftskills.

Educators face unique challenges in assessing soft skills. Some educators haveexpressed concern thatquantifying studentachievement in certainareas, suchascollaboration,creativity,andcharacter,mayactuallydiscouragethedevelopmentoftheseskills.Educatorshaveattemptedtoovercometheseconcernsbyensuringthatstudents, teachers, and parents approach these assessments with the propercontextandunderstandhowtousetheseassessmentsasinstructionaltools.

Educators may need to adopt nontraditional methods of reporting studentprogresstoadequatelycapturegrowthinsoftskilldevelopment.Standardsbasedreport cardsprovidedetailsof studentprogress in specificdimensions,which canimprove theuseof reportcards in improving specific studentoutcomes.Portfoliogradingcanprovidestudentswiththeopportunitytodemonstratesoftskillsacross



multiplecoreacademicsubjectareas.Further,digitalbadgeshaverecentlyemergedas an engaging technique for tracking and recognizing student progress in thedevelopmentofspecificnonacademicskills.

Districtsandschoolsrecognizedfortheirsuccess indevelopingstudentsoftskillsembed soft skills instructionandassessmentacross the curriculum.TheCatalinaFoothillsSchoolDistrictusesstandardsbasedreportcardstotrackstudentprogressinspecificsoftskilldimensionsessential toeachacademicsubject.PlymouthHighSchoolteachersallassessstudentprogressinthefoursoftskillsemphasizedacrossthe curriculum, and New Technology High School provides students with manyopportunitiestodemonstratesoftskilldevelopmentbothinsideandoutsideoftheclassroom.



SECTION I: BEST PRACTICES IN SOFT SKILLS ASSESSMENT Thissectionbrieflydescribestheimpactofsoftskillsinstructionandassessment,discussestherelationshipbetweensoftskillsassessmentandthecoreacademiccurriculum,examinescommon challenges to assessing soft skills, and describes three alternative reportingschemesfortrackingstudentprogressinthedevelopmentofsoftskills.IMPACTInrecentyears,a largebodyofresearchhasestablishedthe importanceofsoftskills infosteringstudentacademicachievementandlongtermsuccess.Someeducatorsconsidersoftskillsessential fortheapplicationof lessons learned incoreacademicsubjects.Theseeducatorsfrequentlyframesoftskilldevelopmentascomplementarytoinstructionincoreacademicareasandcommendschoolswithabalancedapproachforproducinggraduateswith both rigorous content knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledgesuccessfully.1Other researchers and educators highlight the direct impact of soft skilldevelopment on achievement in core academic subjects. Students who participate incooperative learning, forexample,notonly improve teamwork skillsbutalso learn fasterandmoreefficiently,aremore likely topersist in theireducation,and feelmorepositiveaboutlearningthanstudentstaughtintraditionalclassroomsettings.2Leaders ineducationand industryalsoconsidersoftskilldevelopmentessentialforcareerpreparation.A 2006 study conductedby theConferenceBoard in collaborationwith thePartnershipfor21stCenturySchools(P21)foundthatasubstantialproportionofemployersconsider recent high school graduates deficient in a number of applied skills such ascollaborationandcreativity.Figure1.1onthefollowingpagedescribesemployerratingsofthe preparedness of recent high school graduates four key college and career readinessskills.Aseducatorsrecognizethegrowing importanceofsoftskilldevelopment instudentoutcomes, effective assessment becomes increasingly critical to school improvementefforts.

1Gaines,R.,Mohammed,M.SoftSkillsDevelopmentinK12Education:ResearchBrief.GeorgiaLeadership

InstituteforSchoolImprovement,2013,p1.http://www.glisi.org/sites/default/files/GLISI_SSResearchBrief_E1.pdf

2CooperativeLearning.JohnsHopkinsUniversity,2012.http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Cooperative%20Learning/



Figure1.1:EmployerRatingsofRecentHighSchoolGraduates

Source:Partnershipfor21stCenturySkills3ASSESSMENTANDCURRICULUMLeaders in college and career readiness recommend thatacademic instruction and softskilldevelopmentoccursimultaneouslytomeetstudentneedsandcurricularobjectives.4Researchers emphasize that not only are soft skills best taught within traditionaldisciplines,butalsothatprogramsdesignedtoteachsoftskillswithoutabroadercontexthaveshown limitedevidenceofsuccess.5Thus,howaschoolordistrictchooses toassesssoftskillsishighlydependentupontheschoolcurriculum.Districts and schoolshave adoptedmany approaches to incorporating soft skills into theacademic curriculum. Often, schools select specific soft skills to emphasize across allsubjects and grade levels. Forexample,Metro SchoolsofDesign inCorpusChristi,Texasrequiresallteacherstoassessstudentsintheiracademiccontentareasandinfivecore21stcentury skills, includingcollaboration,creativity,communication,professionalethics,andcriticalthinking.Allteacherswithintheschoolsusecommon,multidimensionalrubricstograde students in each of these areas.6Similar soft skills curriculum and assessmentschemes are employed by the Catalina Foothills SchoolDistrict inArizona and PlymouthHighSchoolinWisconsin,eachidentifiedasexemplarsinsoftskillinstructionandprofiledinSectionIIofthisreport.

3AreTheyReallyReadytoWork?P21,2006,p.32.

http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF092906.pdf4CollegeandCareerReadiness:WhatDoWeMean?ConnectEd:CaliforniaCenterforCollegeandCareer.January,

2012,p.17.http://www.ccrscenter.org/sites/default/files/CACRFramework_V11_2012_0126.pdf5Jerald,C.Defininga21stCenturyEducation.TheCenterforPublicEducation,2009,p.59.

http://www.cfsd16.org/public/_century/pdf/Defininga21stCenturyEducation_Jerald_2009.pdf621stCenturyLearningIntegratesKnowledgeandAppliedKnowledgeSkills.MetroSchoolsofDesign.

http://metroschools.net/softskills.html#blank

70%

54%

44%

35%

30%

44%

53%

61% 5%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

CriticalThinking/ProblemSolving

Creativity/Innovation

Ethics/SocialResponsibility

Teamwork/Collaboration

Deficient Adequate Excellent



Insomecases,softskillassessmentvariesfromsubjecttosubject.Forexample,NewYorkCityPublicSchoolshaspublishedprioritybenchmarkskillsandaccompanyingassessmentsininformationfluencythatlinktheskillsrequiredforlibraryresearchwithspecificsoftskills,including the pursuit of personal and aesthetic growth and the demonstration of socialresponsibility. Language arts teachers and librarians may use the benchmarks andaccompanying assessments in daily instruction of academic skills as well as personaldevelopment.7ThismodeldiffersfromthatemployedbytheMetroSchoolsofDesignandother exemplar districts in that the rubrics used to assess student progress are subjectspecificanddonotnecessarilyapplyacrossthecurriculum.While educators employ many strategies to integrate soft skills within the curriculum,projectbased learning is widely considered one of the most effective instructionaltechniques for teachingandassessing21stcenturyskills.Throughprojectbased learning,studentsengage inmeaningful, longtermprojects todevelop anddemonstrateessentialskills.Notonlydoesprojectbased learningrequirestudentstoapplysoftskills,but italsoprovides teachers with opportunities to directly assess student progress in establishedstandards related to soft skill development. A successful projectbased assessmentframework,however,requirestheadoptionofaprojectbasedcurriculum.8Inmostcases,theadoptionofanewsoftskillsassessmentschemewillnecessitatechangesinthecurriculum.Proponentsofprojectbasedlearningcontendthat21stcenturyskillsarenotmeasureablethroughstandardizedtestsandthateffectiveteachingoftheseskillswillnecessitateashifttowardmoreauthenticassessment.9P21,whichalsoendorsesprojectbased learning, recommendsagainstusing traditional testingmodels tomeasure studentprogress on the grounds that that these models fail to adequately measure essentialstudentskillsandeffectivelyinforminstruction.10While instruction in soft skills must be integrated within the academic curriculum foreffectiveassessment,educatorsalsonotethevalueofpromotingsoftskillsoutsideoftheclassroom setting.Extracurricular settings, such as afterschoolprograms, athletics, andclubs, canbenaturalenvironments for soft skilldevelopment.11Theendof this sectiondiscussestheuseofdigitalbadgestotrackstudentprogressinsoftskilldevelopment,whichcouldprovideeducatorswiththeopportunitytoassesssoftskillsinmultiplesettings.

7InformationFluencyContinuum:K12PriorityBenchmarkSkillsandAssessments.NewYorkCityPublicSchools.

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2BD1C6F6E58341E89D8A8578447FBF9A/0/IFCK12PriorityBenhmarkSkillsandAssessments.pdf

8Larmer,J.,Mergendoller,J.,TheMainCourse,NotDessert.BuckInstituteforEducation,2010,pp.14.http://images.bie.org/uploads/useful_stuff/Main_Course.pdf

9Bell,S.ProjectBasedLearningforthe21stCentury:SkillsfortheFuture.TheClearingHouse,83(2),2010,p.43.http://images.bie.org/uploads/useful_stuff/PBL_Skills_for_the_Future.pdf

1021stCenturySkillsAssessment.ThePartnershipFor21stCenturySkills.October2007,p.1.http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/21st_Century_Skills_Assessment_epaper.pdf

11CollegeandCareerReadiness.Op.cit.,p.17.



ASSESSMENTCHALLENGESSoftskillsinstructionandassessmentisfundamentallydifferentfromtraditionalinstructionin core academic subjects, and, as a result, educators may face certain obstacles inassessmentthatareuniquetospecificsoftskills.Forexample,GrantWiggins,presidentofAuthentic Education, a professional development service provider for K12 schools, hasobservedconcernamongeducatorsthatassessmentsthatmeasurecreativitymayactuallyinhibitdevelopmentof thisskill.12Wigginsdescribesanexperienceusing rubrics toassessstudent story writing with a group of language arts teachers. Although teachers easilyrecognizedthatsomestudentstoriesweresimplydullandthatthesestorieswereinsomefundamentalwaydeficient,theywerereluctanttolabelstudentworkasengagingornotengagingasdefinedintheassessmentrubric.Wigginswrites:

[Eventually,]theyreluctantlyagreedandfoundthattheirstudentseasilyunderstoodthedifferencebetweenengagingandnotengagingandacceptedtheassessmentcriterionascommonsense.Oh,youmeanyoudontwantittobedullandboring,[asked]onekid....Oh,wedidntthinkthatmatteredinschoolwriting,saidagirl.13

Wigginsexperience illustrates the importanceof setting clearexpectations for studentwork.Foreducatorstofostercreativity,theymustfirstcommunicatetostudentsthatskillisvalued.TheCenterforRealWorldLearninghassimilarlyencouragededucatorstodirectlycommunicateexpectationsintherealmofcreativity,butalsocautionsthatassessmentsofstudent creativitymay be difficult for students to interpret. Figure 1.2 describes severaladvantagesanddisadvantagesofassessingstudentcreativitythateducatorsmustconsider.

Figure1.2:AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofCreativityAssessmentsADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Indicatesthatcreativityisseenasanimportantaspectoftheformalcurriculuminschools

Inspiresthedevelopmentofcurriculaandteachingactivitiesthatfostercreativity

Providesawayofarticulatingandevidencingthevalueofcreativity

Bringingschoolsintolinewithworkplaceswhereassessmentofcreativityispracticed

Helpsteacherstobemorepreciseintheirunderstandingofcreativity

Providesformativefeedbacktostudentstoenablethemtodevelopingtheircreativitymoreeffectively

Mayencourageoverlysimplisticinterpretationsofwhatcreativityis

Maybeconfusedwithacommentaboutastudent'scharacter,forinstance,beingunimaginative

Assessment"scores"maybeusedinappropriatelyforsummativeevaluationsofstudentperformance

Concernsthatassessmentsmaybemadewithoutregardtocontext

Practicaldifficultiesofmeasuringsomethingthatmanifestsitselfinarangeofschoolsubjects

Source:CenterforRealWorldLearning14

12Wiggins,G.Onassessingforcreativity.Granted,and.(Blog),Feb.3,2012.http://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/onassessingforcreativityyesyoucanandyesyoushould/13Ibid.14Lucas,B.,Claxton,G.,andSpencer,E.ProgressioninCreativity.CenterforRealWorldLearning,2012,p.3.http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/50153675.pdf



Evaluation of collaborative work also presents unique challenges. Typically, teachersevaluate collaborative work by assessing both the work of individual students and theperformance of the group as awhole. In 2010, Educause Learning Initiative published aseriesofrecommendationsfortheevaluationofbothindividualandcollectiveoutcomesofcollaborativelearningprojects:

Evaluations of collaborativeworkmust be timely, transparent, and systematic toavoidstressandresentmentamongstudents.15

Acontractthatoutlinestheroles,communicationprotocols,timelines,andqualitystandards,ofbothstudentsandteachersprovidesstructure.Instructorsmustmodelaccountabilitythroughoutcollaborativeprojectsinordertodemonstratethatfreeloadingisunacceptable.16

Evaluationsmaybemade from theperspectiveof the team, the instructor,oranexternalobserver.17

Similar to assessments of teamwork and creativity, character assessments are alsosusceptibletounintendednegativeeffects.Inrecentyears,theKIPPcharterschoolnetworkhas been the subject of some criticism over the use of character report cards. Criticscontendthatcharactereducationshould focusuponencouragementandselfreflection,and have expressed concern that grading character shifts the focus away from truecharacter development.18In its current form, the KIPP character report cards measurestudentgrowthinsevenhighlypredictivecharacterstrengthsthatresearchershaveseencorrelated with student outcomes, including zest, grit, selfcontrol, hope/optimism,curiosity,gratitude,and social intelligence.19Students receive ratings foreachcharacterstrengthona scale from15byeach teachereachquarter.20While the character reportcarddoesoffernumericalscoresofstudentprogress,KIPP leadersarecarefultonotethatthepurposeofthecharactercardisnottoquantifystudentcharacter,butrathertoserveasameaningfultalkingpointforteachers,parents,andstudents:

TheKIPPcharactergrowthcardprovidesanopportunityforteachers,parents,andstudents tohavemeaningfulconversationsaround thedevelopmentofcharacter.Its purpose is less to quantify what charactermeans andmore to provide avehicleforpeopletotalkaboutcharacterinarigorousandnuancedmanner.21

15Diaz,Veronicaetal.Unit4:AssessmentofCollaborativeLearningProjectOutcomes.EducauseLearningInitiative.

2010,p.1.https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI80084.pdf16Ibid.,p.34.17Ibid.,p.45.18Ferlazzo,L.WhySchoolsShouldNotGradeCharacterTraits.TheWashingtonPost,20October2011.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answersheet/post/whyschoolsshouldnotgradecharactertraits/2011/10/20/gIQAJuoU0L_blog.html

19Questions&Answers:KIPPNYCsApproachtoCharacter/CharacterGrowthCard.KIPP.http://www.kipp.org/files/dmfile/CharacterQA.pdf

20KIPPCharacterGrowthCard.KIPP.http://www.kipp.org/files/dmfile/KIPPNYCCharacterGrowthCardSAMPLE2.pdf21Questions&Answers:KIPPNYCsApproachtoCharacter/CharacterGrowthCard,Op.cit.



ASSESSMENTANDREPORTINGSCHEMESWhile it isquitecommonforteachersto incorporatesoftskills instructionandassessmentinto daytoday practices, reporting student progress in soft skill development on reportcards issomewhat lesscommon.Thissubsectiondescribes three techniques forreportingmeasuresof soft skilldevelopmentover the courseof a gradingperiodor the academicyear.STANDARDSBASEDREPORTCARDSTraditionalreportcardsawardholisticgrades in individualsubjectsbutfailtodescribethespecific areas inwhich a student excels or struggles. Letter grades on traditional reportcardstypicallycombinestudentachievementacrossthreebroadcategories:

Productrelatestostudentsspecificachievementsorlevelofperformancebasedonexaminations, final reports, projects, or portfolios, and overall assessments ofperformance.

Process relates to students effort, class behavior, or work habits. It alsomightinclude evidence from daily work, regular classroom quizzes, homework, classparticipation,orpunctualityofassignmentsindeterminingstudentsgrades.

Progress relates to how much students actually gain from their learningexperiences.Teacherswhouseprogresscriteria typically lookathow farstudentshavecomeratherthanwherestudentsare.22

Rather thanmasking thesecomponentsofstudentachievement,standardsbasedgradingcanprovide teacherswith theopportunity todescribe studentprogress ineachof thesecategories separately. For example, teachersmay ascribe scores for a project aswell asscoresforastudentsteamworkonsaidproject.Thephilosophyofmasteryorstandardsbasedreportingenablesstudents,parents,andteachers to see where specific strengths and deficits lie at each evaluation point,providingmorenuancedinformationthanasimplelettergradeprovides.Standardsbasedreportcardsarenot,however,merelyamechanismforevaluatingstudentsandcheckingupon their progress, however;mastery reporting also ensures that districts develop clearexpectationsforstudentsfromtheoutset,whichpreparesstudentsforsuccessduringtheyearastheyknowwhattheyneedtoachievetoreachamasterylevelofknowledge.23SectionIIpresentsasamplestandardsbasedreportcardpublishedbytheCatalinaFoothillsSchool District that describes student progress in meeting academic standards anddevelopingrelevantsoftskills.

22Takenverbatimfrom:Guskey,T.,Jung,L.TheChallengesofStandardsBasedGrading.LeadershipCompass,4(2),

2006,p.1.http://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Leadership_Compass/2006/LC2006v4n2a3.pdf23Hu,W.ReportCardsGiveUpAsandBsfor4sand3s.NewYorkTimes.25March2009.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/education/25cards.html?pagewanted=all



PORTFOLIOASSESSMENTStudent portfolios refer to a collection of work that a learner has collected, selected,organized,reflectedupon,andpresentedtoshowunderstandingandgrowthovertime.24Proponentsarguethatportfolioassessmentsencouragestudentstotakeprideintheirworkand provide meaningful conversation tools for students, teachers, and parents.25Whilesomeeducatorshavenotedthatportfolioworkcanbedifficulttoquantify,researchersandeducatorshaveidentifiedseveralstrategiesforeffectiveuseofportfoliosininstructionandassessment.26A study conducted in Pittsburgh public schools examined two key criticisms of portfolioassessmentsystems:variabilityinthejudgmentsofratersandvariabilityinthecollectionofstudentwork. The techniques used in their study led to significantly higher reliability ofportfolioassessments.Foreffectiveuseofportfolioassessment,researchersconcluded:

Thepurposesoftheassessmentmustbeclear,andthepracticesmustbeconsistentwiththatgoal.

Theremustbeashared interpretive frameworkwithin thecommunityconductingandusingtheassessment.

Theremustbecoherence inthesystem,sothataccountabilitygoalsareconsistentwithclassroomgoals.27

Thestudyalsoengagedteachersresponsibleforratingportfoliosintrainingandcalibrationworkshopstoimproveconsistencyamongraters.28AU.S.DepartmentofEducation(DOE)ConsumerGuidealsonotesissuesofvariability,bothin terms of the types ofwork placed into a students portfolio and the criteria used byteacherstojudgetheworksquality,andechoestherecommendationsfromthePittsburghpublic schools study. Specifically, the U.S. DOE recommends that schools employingportfolioassessmentestablish clear rubrics formeasuring studentprogress,havemorethanoneevaluatorassesseachportfolio,andprovidetrainingtoallevaluators.29New Technology High School, profiled in Section II, relies upon portfolios for assessingstudentprogressacrossthecurriculum.

24Barrett,H.UsingElectronicPortfoliosforFormative/ClassroombasedAssessment.TheREFLECTInitiative,June

2006,p.1.http://electronicportfolios.org/portfolios/ConnectedNewsletter.pdf25Ash,K.EPortfoliosEvolveThankstoWeb2.0Tools.EducationWeek,June15,2011.

http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/06/15/03eportfolio.h04.html26Neiman,L.,LinkingTheoryandPracticeinPortfolioAssessment.RealClassroomIdeas.com,October26,1999,p.5.

http://realclassroomideas.com/resources/PortfoliosLinking+Theory+and+Practice+in+Portfolio+Assessment.doc27LeMahieu,P.G.,Gitomer,D.H.,andEresh,J.T.PortfoliosinLargescaleAssessmentDifficultButNotImpossible.

EducationalMeasurement:IssuesandPractice,14:3,September1995,p.28.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.17453992.1995.tb00863.x/abstract

28Ibid.,p.12.29StudentPortfolios:AdministrativeUses.U.S.DepartmentofEducation,December1993.

http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/admuses.html



BADGESDigitalbadgesareanemerging tooleducatorshaveadopted to recognizestudents in thedevelopmentof skills thatmaynotbeadequatelypresentedona traditional reportcard.Educators have described badges as tools formeasuring and recognizing competencies,skills,training,collaborativeabilities,character,personalcontribution,participatoryenergy,leadership and motivational skills, and other socalled hard and soft individual andcooperativetalents.30Multiple organizations support school districts in the development of badge systems formonitoringandrewardingstudentprogress.31Howeducatorsusebadgesystemsmayvaryaccording to theneedsof thedistrict, school,or classroom.Forexample, throughuseofclassroomtechnology,someteachersawardstudentsbadgesastheydemonstratespecificcompetencies intheclassroom.Alternatively,educators intheAlbertaEducationalSystemhave considered badges as opportunities for students to pursue longterm goals as theycompleterequisitetasks.32Educatorshaveembracedbadgesformanyreasons.Badgesnotonlybringsomeexcitementtotheassessmentprocess,someeducatorsargue,butalsoencouragestudentsbyfocusingon positive achievements, rather than the reductive identification of strengths andweaknesses.Thenatureofthebadgesystemalsopermitsteacherstomeasureprogressinspecificdimensions,ratherthanbroadlydefinedones.33Advocatesforbadgesasatoolformeasuringstudentskillsalsohighlighttheopportunityforbadgestoeffectivelymeasurestudentprogressinspecificareasacrossacademicdisciplinesaswellasinextracurricularactivities.Forexample,ifopportunitiesexisttoearnbadgesbydemonstrating soft skills in different classes as well as in afterschool programs, thenmeasures of student skill acquisition would not necessarily need to be linked toperformanceofeachskillinspecificclassroomsettings.34AlthoughgrowthintoolstohelpK12educatorsusebadgestoassessstudentprogresshasbeen rapid, theuse inK12 classrooms is stillnew andno rigorous studiesor consensus

30Farber,M.BadgesandtheCommonCore.Edutopia,11September2013.http://www.edutopia.org/blog/badges

andthecommoncorematthewfarber31[1]Youtopiamakesiteasytomanageandmotivateyourcrowd.Youtopia.http://home.youtopia.com/[2]DigitalBadgesforEducation!ForAllBadges.http://www.forallbadges.com/[3]Thefreeandeasywaytoawardbadgestostudentsforalllearningexperiences.ClassBadges.

http://classbadges.com/[4]BlackboardPartnerswithMozillatosupportUseofDigitalBadges.Blackboard.

http://www.blackboard.com/AboutBb/NewsCenter/PressReleases.aspx?releaseid=12269732LearnerCompetenciesandBadgesintheK12AlbertaEducationalSystem.AlbertaEducationalSystem.

http://www.slideshare.net/missrithenay/badgesassignmenttwo33Anderson,A.TeachersVoice:WhyEducationalBadgesTrumpLetterGradesasMotivators.WiredAcademic,13

November2012.http://www.wiredacademic.com/2012/11/k12teachersvoicewhyeducationalbadestrumplettergradesasmotivator/

34Ash,K.DigitalBadgesWouldRepresentStudentsSkillAcquisition.EducationWeek,13June2012.http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2012/06/13/03badges.h05.html



existstosuggesttheoverallvalueofthissystem.Someexternalprogramshave,however,reportedsomesuccessusing the tools tohelp instructorsandcounselors identifystudentskillsandinterests.Forexample,theProvidenceAfterSchoolAllianceusesbadgesnotonlyto trackstudentprogress,butalso toconnectstudentswithopportunities thatalignwiththeirinterestsandstrengths.35

35TrackingMiddleSchoolPassionsThroughHighSchool.ProvidenceAfterSchoolAlliance.

http://www.mypasa.org/hubhighschool/skillrecognition



SECTION II: PROFILES This section profiles three exemplars in soft skills instruction and assessment: CatalinaFoothills School District in Tucson, Arizona, Plymouth High School in Plymouth,Wisconsin,andNewTechnologyHighSchoolinNapaValley,California.CATALINAFOOTHILLSSCHOOLDISTRICTTheCatalinaFoothillsSchoolDistrict (CFSD) inTucson,Arizonaoperateseightschoolsandhasatotalenrollmentofapproximately5,100students.36Recently,P21recognizedCFSDforpromisingpractices intheuseofrubrics forsoftskillassessment.37In2012, theArizonaDepartmentofEducation identifiedCFSDasanexemplarydistrict inpart for thedistrictsfocuson21stcenturyskills.38Beginning in2005with theadoptionof the21stCenturyLearningPlan,CFSDsuccessfullyincorporated 21st century skills across the curriculum.39CFSDmade communication andtransparency the two main priorities of their reform process and included teachers,principals,parents,andthecommunityinthetransitiontothenewcurriculum.40Between 2005 and 2007, teachers and principals worked collaboratively to pinpointdistrictwidelearningoutcomes,designappropriatecurriculum,anddevelopandimplementrubrics in each skill area.41These evaluation rubrics assess student skills in seven areas,including critical and creative thinking, selfdirection, communication, systems thinking,culturalcompetence,teamwork,and leadership.Districteducatorsalsodevelopedsimilarrubrics to assess skilldevelopment in academic subjectswith greaternuance.42CFSDhasrecognized the value of these standardsbased report cards as a tool that separatelyassessestheinfluenceofpositiveandconsistentworkhabits,effort,andparticipation.43Students in grades K8 are scored on a scale from 14 on each gradelevel standard, asdisplayedinFigure2.1onthefollowingpage.

36ProgressReport.ArizonaDepartmentofEducation.November2012,p.6.

http://www.cfsd16.org/public/_century/pdf/ADE_November2012progressreport.pdf37Assessment:A21stCenturySkillsImplementationGuide.Partnershipfor21stCenturySkills,p.5.

http://tla.or.th/document/2556/p21stateimp_assessment.pdf38ProgressReport,Op.cit.,p.6.39Ibid.40WhatsWorking?Lessonsfrompioneer21stcenturyschooldistrictsPart1.P21Blog.2010.

http://www.p21.org/newsevents/p21blog/1087bobpearlmanwhatsworking41Ibid.42Resources.CatalinaFoothillsSchoolDistrict.http://www.cfsd16.org/public/_century/centMain.aspx43K8StandardsBasedReportCard.CatalinaFoothillsSchoolDistrict.http://www.cfsd16.org/public/_distInfo/K

8%20Report%20Card_Info.pdf



Figure2.1:RubricScoresforCFSDStandardsBasedReportCardsRUBRICSCORE DESCRIPTOR DEFINITION

4.0 Advanced ExceedstheStandard3.0 Proficient MeetstheStandard2.0 Basic ApproachingtheStandard1.0 BelowBasic DoesNotMeettheStandard

Source:CFSD44Figure2.2depictsasamplegrade3reportcardthatCFSDparentsmayaccesselectronically.As shown in the image below, the report card includes a space for traditional grades inindividual subjects aswell as a space for teachers to evaluate student progress towardmeetingspecificstandards.Thesetofstandardsassociatedwitheachsubjectincludebothacademic skills and soft skills. For example, the language arts standards include readingfluencyandvocabulary,aswellasselfdirectionandeffort.45

Figure2.2:SampleReportCard

Source:CFSD

44Ibid.45ElementaryReportCard.CatalinaFoothillsSchoolDistrict.

http://www.bobpearlman.org/Learning21/images/CFSD_Elementary_%20Report_Card.jpg



CFSDpromotesreliability insoftskillsassessmentthroughtheuseofprofessional learningcommunities.CFSDteachersmeetregularlytoanalyzestudentachievementdata,compareobservationsaboutstudents,andcollectivelyformulatefuturesteps.46 PLYMOUTHHIGHSCHOOLPlymouth High School in Plymouth,Wisconsin enrolled 817 students in the 20102011schoolyear.47In2013,theGeorgiaLeadershipInstituteforSchoolImprovementrecognizedPlymouth High School for launching a successful soft skills instructional program toenhance itsacademic instructionand the integrityof itsgradingpractices.48AtPlymouthHigh School, teachers in each subject use a fourpoint rubric to assess students incollaboration,respect,initiative,andworkhabits.49PlymouthHighSchoolembedssoftskillsassessment intodaytodayactivities inacademiccourses.50Teachersof all academic subjectsevaluate individual students ineach classoneachof the four soft skillsemphasized in the curriculumusing a common rubric.Reportcardsincludesoftskillscoresforeachclass.51Althoughscoresinsoftsillsdonotappearonofficialtranscripts,manypartnerbusinessesintheregionrequirestudentssoftskillsreportcardaspartofthehiringreviewprocess.52Figure2.3presentsthePlymouthHighSchoolgradingrubricforsoftskills.Asdemonstrated,thecriteriaforassessingeachskill includesconcretemeasuresofstudentbehavior,suchas completingwork on time and participating in activities, aswell asmore qualitativemeasuresofthestudentsattitude.46ProgressReport,Op.cit.,p.7.47Elementary/SecondaryInformationSystem.NationalCenterforEducationStatistics.http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/48Gaines,Op.cit.,p.3.49SoftSkills.PlymouthSchoolDistrict.http://www.plymouth.k12.wi.us/Schools/WHY/softskills.html50Gaines,Op.cit.,p.3.51SoftSkills.Op.cit.52Ibid.



Figure2.3:GradingRubricSoftSkills BELOWEXPECTATIONS EMERGINGEXPECTATIONS MEETSEXPECTATIONS EXCEEDSEXPECTATIONS

Collaboration

Rarelyparticipatesinteamactivities

Rarelyprovidesthoughtfulideasinteams

Rarelyvaluesandencouragesteammembers

Participatesminimallyandrequiressomepromptingasateammember

Sometimesprovidesthoughtfulideasinteams

Sometimesvaluesandencouragesallteammembers

Astrongteammember

Providesthoughtfulideasinteams

Valuesandencouragesallteammembers

Actsasaleaderorexemplaryteam

Consistentlyprovidesthoughtfulideasinteams

Consistentlyvaluesandencouragesallmembersofteams

Respect

Usuallyignorestheopinionsandinputofothers

Needsimprovementindemonstratingrespectfulandhelpfulbehavior

Showsgrowthinacceptingothers

Improvementnoticedindemonstratingrespectfulandhelpfulbehaviors

Listensandacceptstheopinionsofothers

Demonstratesbothrespectfulandhelpfulbehavior

Seeksandacceptstheopinionsandinputofothers

Consistentlydemonstratesbothrespectfulandhelpfulbehavior

Initiative

Seldomdemonstratescuriosityinlearningactivities

Rarelyengagesinlearningactivities

Lacksperseverance Rarelyusesalternateresourcestoassistwithlearning

Occasionallydemonstratescuriosityandinterestinlearning

Sometimesengagesinlearningactivities

Occasionallyperseveres Showsgrowthinresourcefulnessandsometimesseeksassistance

Demonstratescuriosityandinterestinlearning

Engagesinlearningactivities

Demonstratesperseverance

Demonstratesresourcefulnessandseeksassistanceasnecessary

Initiatescuriosityandinterestinlearning

Independentlyengagesinlearningactivities

Consistentlyperseveresandproblemsolves

Demonstratesresourcefulnessandseeksassistanceasnecessary

WorkHabits

Seldompunctualandprepared

Rarelydisplaysapositiveattitude

Needstoremainfocusedontask

Doesnotstrivetomeetpotential

Needstocompletetasksandmeetdeadlines

Occasionallypunctualandprepared

Showsimprovementindisplayingapositiveattitude

Sometimesstaysontask Beginningtostrivetomeetpotential

Inconsistentwithtaskcompletion

Punctualandpreparedforclass

Displaysapositiveattitude

Staysontask Strivestomeetpotential

Completestasksandmeetsdeadlines

Alwayspunctualandprepared

Consistentlydisplaysapositiveattitude

Alwaysontask Alwaysstrivestoreachfullpotential

Spendsextratimetoensuretasksarewelldone

Source:PlymouthSchoolDistrict5353SoftSkills,Op.cit.



NEWTECHNOLOGYHIGHSCHOOLIn the 20102011 school year, New Technology High School in Napa Valley, Californiaenrolled380students.Theschoolwasestablishedtoteachstudentswhoarepreparedtoexcel in an informationbased, technologically advanced society.54Despite the schoolsname,thecurriculumislessfocusedontechnologythanoneightkeycompetencies:

Contentstandards Collaboration Criticalthinking Oralcommunication

Writtencommunication Careerpreparation Citizenshipandethics Technologyliteracy55

Accordingtoaschooladministrator,thecurriculumwasdevelopedsothatcriticalthinking,collaboration,andcommunicationwerenottaughtseparatelyinelectives,butratherareembed[ded]intoeverysingleclass.56Assuch,allcoursesarestructuredonprojectbasedlearning,withstudentsworking ingroupson indepthprojectsover three toeightweeks.Teachersassignprojectsbypresentingacomplex initial inquiry,which is thenpursuedbythe teams of three ormore students. Instruction related to the final project consists ofactivities or lectures delivering information. The students are assessed on theirdemonstration of each of the eight competencies as opposed to receiving an overallprojectgrade.57Teacherscompleteonlinegradingrubricstoassesseachproject.58In addition to presentations, students create comprehensive online portfolios, selectingwork that demonstrates competency in each of the eight focus areas. For example, astudents page may include content work, with examples of papers or PowerPointpresentationscreatedformathorSpanishclasses;careerrelatedproducts,suchas lettersof recommendation, cover letters,anda resume;andpieces thathighlight their learningoutcomes,suchasoralorwrittencommunicationorcitizenshipandethics.59NewTechnologyHighSchool leadersemphasize that theschoolscommitment toappliedskills and personal responsibility permeate the school culture inside and outside of theclassroom.Studentsmaintain thecleanlinessandorderof theschoolandare responsibleformanagingtheirtimewithouttheassistanceofbellsthatsignalthebeginningandendofclasses. 60 The unique curriculum and approach to student freedom has significantinvestmentsinteacherprofessionaldevelopmentandcurriculumdesign.61 54MissionofNewTechnologyHighSchool.NewTechnologyHighSchool.

http://www.nths.nvusd.k12.ca.us/Website2007/aboutvisionmissioncorevalues.html55Pearlman,B.StudentsThriveonCooperationandProblemSolving.Edutopia,18October2006.

http://www.edutopia.org/newskillsnewcentury56Barseghian,T.NapaNewTechHigh:5ReasonsthisistheSchooloftheFuture.HuffingtonPostOnline,7January

2011.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tinabarseghian/napanewtechhigh5reas_b_805972.html57Pearlman,Op.cit.58Barseghian,Op.cit.59StudentPortfolios.NewTechnologyHighSchool.http://www.nths.nvusd.k12.ca.us/Website2007/portfolios_10.html60AboutUs.NewTechnologyHighSchool.http://newtechhigh.org/?page_id=57361Barseghian,Op.cit.



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