The importance and challenge of measuring non-cognitive skills: Using rubric-marking and pair-wise comparison to evaluate innovative teaching methods

Research has shown that non-cognitive skills such as social skills, perseverance and initiative are just as important as cognitive skills for the academic achievement and subsequent labour market outcomes of pupils. However,... [ view full abstract ]

Research has shown that non-cognitive skills such as social skills, perseverance and initiative are just as important as cognitive skills for the academic achievement and subsequent labour market outcomes of pupils. However, particularly in developing countries pupils rarely learn these skills in class and learning assessments rarely focus on measuring them. MUVA Aprender works with students from the main pedagogical university in Maputo, Mozambique helping them to develop teaching tools that target non-cognitive skills as well as higher order thinking skills, both of which tend to be neglected in the Mozambican class room. They apply those tools in free after-school remedial tutoring sessions. To measure the effectiveness of this intervention in teaching non-cognitive and higher order thinking skills, we developed an innovative approach using a combination of written tasks and observational tools. Both of these will be assessed using pairwise comparison. We present our methodology for measuring non-cognitive and higher order thinking skills as well as first experiences from the field. Furthermore, this talk will facilitate a discussion on how to solve the challenge of measuring such skills and highlight the importance of making this part of future education interventions.