1 Oct 2019
Toolkit

Are You Ready to Assess Social and Emotional Learning and Development? (Second Edition)

Helping youth develop social and emotional competencies can put them on the road to success—not only in school but also in their lives. It is crucial to have strong conditions for learning to enable social and emotional learning (SEL) and development.

How can you assess conditions for learning and development, as well as social and emotional competencies? The Stop, Think, Act: Ready to Assess toolkit, available at no cost, helps educators, practitioners, and policymakers decide if and when they are ready to take those steps.

The second edition of Stop, Think, Act: Ready to Assess:

  • Highlights the importance of implementation readiness and the conditions that foster SEL and development;
  • Includes assessments of learning conditions in and out of school; and
  • Updates the list of available social and emotional competency assessments.

Image of postcard: Ready to Assess Social and Emotional Learning

The toolkit includes the following:

  • Brief
    Invites users to "STOP" and learn about the evolving SEL landscape. Introduces implementation readiness and conditions that foster SEL and development. Download Brief
  • Decision Tree
    Helps schools and organizations that are ready to assess to "THINK" about whether and how to use assessments with the development and critical appraisal of an assessment plan. Download Decision Tree
  • Tools Index
    Empowers users to "ACT" with confidence to choose from a list of selected assessment tools identified by AIR to explore conditions for learning and development and social and emotional competencies. Download Tools Index

View all AIR work in Social and Emotional Learning >>

Related Work

15 Jan 2016
Spotlight

Beyond the Bell: Turning Research into Action in Afterschool and Expanded Learning

How can we better support young people as they learn the skills they need to succeed in school, work, and life? These resources focus on social and emotional development outside the classroom.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning
13 Dec 2015
Toolkit

The In-School and Afterschool Social and Emotional Learning Connection: A Planning Tool

School-day and afterschool programs must work together to support young people as they develop. Although research shows that both in-school and afterschool staff find social and emotional learning important, the ways in which these different settings support young people vary. This tool is designed for afterschool and in-school staff first to reflect independently on their goals for social and emotional learning discuss how best to work collaboratively toward a common goal.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning
13 Dec 2015
Brief

Linking Schools and Afterschool Through Social and Emotional Learning

How can we better support young people as they develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school, work, and life? That is the question facing in-school educators, afterschool providers, families, policymakers, and the general public. This brief covers the policy context reflecting a growing interest in social and emotional learning and how afterschool and in-school educators can work together.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning
4 Dec 2015
Toolkit

How Afterschool Programs Can Support Employability Through Social and Emotional Learning: A Planning Tool

Although young people need many skills to be successful in the workplace, one aspect of employability has gained attention in recent years—the need for workers to have strong social and emotional skills. Afterschool programs have a role to play in supporting the development of these skills for all youth. This planning tool is designed to help afterschool workers identify priority areas for employability skills building based on youth and employer input, and plan next steps based on that input.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, College and Career Readiness, Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning
27 Jul 2015
Brief

Supporting Social and Emotional Development Through Quality Afterschool Programs

During the past 20 years, the afterschool field has been held accountable in varying ways—first, on the ability to provide safe places for young people to spend time while their parents work; then, on success in helping to improve participants’ academic achievement as a supplement to the school day. This brief provides an overview of work done to date both in afterschool and school-based settings to define social and emotional learning, shares recent research on how afterschool programs contribute to the development of these competencies, and offers some next step recommendations to both practitioners and researchers.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning
14 Sep 2015
Toolkit

Social and Emotional Learning Practices: A Self-Reflection Tool for Afterschool Staff

Both the formal and informal education communities are increasingly focused on fostering opportunities for social and emotional learning (SEL) and the link between SEL and youth outcomes. This self-reflection tool is designed to help afterschool program staff reflect upon their own social and emotional competencies and their ability to support young people's SEL through program practices.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Afterschool and Expanded Learning, Teacher Preparation and Performance
29 Jan 2016
Blog Post

Are Schools Ready to Assess Social and Emotional Development?

Mounting evidence shows that social and emotional learning skills may be more predictive than test scores of student success in English language arts and math. In this blog post, Deborah Moroney and Michael McGarrah discuss how states and districts can build systems to support and properly assess these social and emotional skills and competencies.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Further Reading