More Than Academics: The Value of Measuring Student Well-Being and Social-Emotional Growth in Schools

Consider a three-legged stool. Typically, a three-legged stool consists of a seat supported by three legs of equal length. It’s not unheard of for a stool like this to be a little wobbly at times, but overall, with the three legs spread evenly at approximately the same length, the person sitting on the stool is relatively well-balanced. 

Now, let’s consider that the three legs of the stool are the three components that make up student development. Each leg of the stool is vital to consider for healthy student growth. These areas are physical development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development. Let’s define each of them:

• Cognitive development: Schools naturally spend a great deal of time considering how students are developing their cognitive abilities, navigating complex thought processes, growing and engaging academically, and problem-solving. 

• Physical development: Of course, schools must consider a student’s physical development. Schools frequently notice the “ages and stages” of how the body is developing and common physical experiences and changes that are occurring, along with other important physical indicators that impact a student’s experience at school.  

• Psychosocial development: Many schools are beginning to explore in greater depth how students are developing from a whole-child approach, including their psychosocial development. This includes schools noticing how students are feeling about their sense of self, experiencing emotion, building connections and relationships with others, managing conflicts, and more. 

The Importance of Supporting the Whole Child

When considering student development, schools must attend to each leg of the stool to avoid instability. Schools are very equipped with resources for assessing how students are developing cognitively in their academic journey. Some schools may consider utilizing standardized assessments, such as the Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) summative assessment or Milestones interim assessment offered by ERB. 

Schools may also regularly assess for physical development as it relates to school. For example, schools may observe student gross and fine motor-skill development, noticing how a student is able to manage their body’s movements in physical education or manipulate a pencil when writing. Additionally, schools are mindful of physical wellness concerns that may arise or hormonal changes that naturally occur within human development. 

Where schools often feel less equipped is in the area of psychosocial development, and yet it is critical to address. Let’s take a look at why.

• CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, uncovers that when a student’s social-emotional growth is proactively considered, there are positive outcomes in academic development, as well as in students’ ability to manage stress and depression and improved attitudes about self and relationships.

• An Oxford Impact Study revealed what many educators already know intrinsically: students with a higher sense of well-being have a myriad of positive outcomes. The study showed that students with stronger sense of well-being develop and improve their concentration, motivation, and energy levels. They also develop coping skills that serve them throughout life, build and maintain better relationships, successfully overcome difficulties, and continue to persist with their academic pursuits. 

• In a 2022-2023 study, ERB piloted its Check-In Survey tool and its SelfWise inventory with 14 member schools to examine the intersection between academic performance, student well-being, and social-emotional competencies. This unique study uncovered how crucial a student’s sense of Fairness and Belonging (as reported on the Check-In Survey) is to their emotional well-being as well as their academic achievement.

Tools to Inform Whole-Child Growth

Psychosocial development consists of the current sense of well-being a student is experiencing along with their growth in social and emotional skills. Often, schools utilize the framework from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to unpack the key social-emotional skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. 

Although it makes sense for schools to attend to student well-being on a holistic level, there are few tools for measuring student growth and development that apply within a school setting. ERB offers two helpful tools to support schools in their assessment of student psychosocial development: the SelfWise Inventory and the Check-In Survey. 

• The SelfWise Inventory, aligned with the five CASEL core competencies, is typically administered twice per school year, allowing schools the opportunity to examine student growth, evaluate SEL programming effectiveness, and set goals that are aligned with the school mission.

• The Check-In Survey is, as the name implies, a brief “check-in” that schools can administer on a regular or ad-hoc cadence in order to gain a pulse on how students are currently doing in terms of their well-being in the school community. The survey focuses on three key categories: Fairness and Belonging, Emotional Well-Being, and Academic Engagement.

Combining the use of these tools to assess student social-emotional competencies as well as their current sense of well-being is a powerful approach to supporting the psychosocial leg of the student’s developmental stool.

Approaching each leg of the student’s developmental stool empowers schools to create intentional plans for assessing student cognitive, physical, and psychosocial development. Assessment will reveal which area of development requires more support or intervention, in turn supporting the whole child. 

Learn more about ERB’s Whole Child Solution, which bridges the gap between student academic achievement, well-being and belonging, and social and emotional skills.