Children's social-emotional and self-regulation skills are critical for success in school and, ultimately, in the workplace. How can educators determine the most effective approaches for measuring students' interpersonal competencies? And how can they use the data to improve their own practice? Relevant for school leaders, educators, researchers, and other stakeholders, this book brings together leading experts from multiple disciplines to discuss the current state of measurement and assessment of a broad range of noncognitive skills and present an array of innovative tools. Chapters describe measures targeting the individual student, classroom, whole school, and community; highlight implications for instructional decision making; examine key issues in methodology, practice, and policy; and share examples of systematic school- and district-wide implementation.
Stephanie M. Jones, PhD, is the Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Child Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she also serves as Director of the Ecological Approaches to Social and Emotional Learning Lab. Dr. Jones's research focuses on the effects of poverty and exposure to violence on children's social, emotional, and behavioral development. Her recent work addresses the impact of preschool- and elementary-level social and emotional learning interventions on behavioral and academic outcomes and classroom practices, as well as new curriculum development, implementation, and testing. With Nonie K. Lesaux, Dr. Jones is co-director of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative and co-principal investigator of the Early Learning Study at Harvard. She recently served as a member of the Council of Distinguished Scientists for the Aspen National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development. Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD, is Academic Dean and the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her developmental and experimental research with school-age children and youth investigates language, reading, and social-emotional development; classroom quality and academic growth; and strategies for accelerating language and reading comprehension. With Stephanie M. Jones, Dr. Lesaux is co-director of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative and co-principal investigator of the Early Learning Study at Harvard. She is a recipient of the William T. Grant Scholars Award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Dr. Lesaux has served on the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council's Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8. Sophie P. Barnes, EdM, is a doctoral candidate in the Human Development, Learning and Teaching concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research centers on the setting- and individual-level mechanisms that support children's social, emotional, and behavioral skill development in school contexts, with a focus on executive function and self-regulation. She is also interested in adding nuance and precision to the measurement of social and emotional learning (SEL) and partnering with schools and districts to develop effective assessment plans. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Ms. Barnes worked in the EASEL Lab led by Stephanie M. Jones on a number of evaluations of school-based interventions that target children's SEL growth and development, as well as research and translational writing projects.
"Jones and colleagues have curated a thought-provoking volume grounded in theory and rigorous scientific methodologies, from long-standing practices in psychoeducational measurement to contemporary approaches that leverage technology, neuroscience, child development, and physiology. Contributors are highly regarded experts in social, emotional, and behavioral assessment. The volume addresses student-level questions along with classroom-, school-, and system-level considerations, including ways to contend with structural inequities. Chapters hold your attention with interesting analogies and authentic case scenarios. This seminal resource for practitioners and researchers alike takes a topic that has too often been an afterthought and ushers it to the fore. I will be using this book with my school psychology graduate students!"--Laura Feuerborn, PhD, NCSP, Professor and Director of School Psychology and Faculty Fellow in Social Emotional Learning, University of Washington Tacoma -
