Thoughtful Education Network

What skills separate high achievers from low and average achievers? To find out, we conducted a ten-year investigation into 47 different state testing systems. By collecting and analyzing test items and then giving “test samplers” to students at differing achievement levels, we learned something surprising: Student success had very little to do with content knowledge. Instead, student success rested heavily on a set of twelve core skills that cut across all content areas. In addition, we found that these skills were radically under-taught, rarely benchmarked, and in some cases, never mentioned in state curriculum documents. That’s why we call these skills, so critical to student success, The Hidden Skills of Academic Literacy.

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