Open AccessComparing the reliability and predictive power of child, teacher, and guardian reports of noncognitive skills
Author(s) -
Shuaizhang Feng,
Yujie Han,
James J. Heckman,
Tim Kautz
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2113992119
Subject(s) - guardian , predictive power , reliability (semiconductor) , psychology , power (physics) , developmental psychology , medical education , medicine , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry
Significance Recent evidence has shown that noncognitive or socioemotional skills (e.g., persistence and self-control) are predictive of success in life and can be shaped through interventions. Accordingly, policy makers and researchers have increasingly measured children’s noncognitive skills, typically relying on surveys in which children rate their own skills or adults rate the skills of children. Such ratings are often collected from multiple respondent types. This study demonstrates that, compared with child and guardian reports of noncognitive skills, teacher reports are more predictive of children’s cognitive and behavioral outcomes in school. Child and guardian reports add minimal predictive power beyond teacher reports. These findings suggest that policy makers and researchers should prioritize teacher reports above those of children and guardians.