Multi-competency framework linking academic and nonacademic competency indicators to postsecondary outcomes¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 3 studies (2 associational, 1 review), q1–q2 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report organizes student competencies into several indicator categories—math skills, work habits, leadership skills, teamwork and other sports-related skills, and attitudes about whether luck or effort determine success in life (locus of control)—and treats them as jointly related to postsecondary educational attainment and earnings. It states: "we examine whether the benefit of improving a given competency depends on a student’s existing strengths and weaknesses." This framing treats competencies as interacting rather than independent predictors.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Simultaneous measurement of multiple competency indicators in the same longitudinal dataset
• A flexible functional form to model interactions among competencies

Constraints¶

• The framework is estimated with observational NELS survey data, so estimates are associations rather than causal effects

Target Learners¶

• secondary school students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• development of academic and nonacademic competencies that predict postsecondary education and labor market outcomes

Claims¶

• Competency Benefits Depend On Other Competencies [+M]
• NELS indicators of math skills, work habits, leadership, teamwork and sports-related skills, and locus of control are related to postsecondary earnings and to the likelihood of attending and completing postsecondary education [+W]
• Academic and nonacademic skills developed in preschool and early elementary years are foundational to important longer-term outcomes [+W]
• Multiple non-academic competencies (leadership, sports-related skills, work habits, prosocial behavior, locus of control) appear to predict students' later success in higher education and the labor market [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• John Deke, Joshua Haimson. (2006). Valuing Student Competencies: Which Ones Predict Postsecondary Educational Attainment and Earnings, and for Whom? Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/valuing-student-competencies-which-ones-predict-postsecondary-educational-attainment-and-earnings-and-for-whom