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Understanding the developmental and contextual nature of social and emotional competencies has always been a key concern of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), including the ways students and adults use core social and emotional competencies in preparation for and within their work-life. The current labor market requires employees to have social and emotional skills more than any other recent trend in workforce demands, yet there is no clear alignment between the social and emotional skills developed in K-12 and workforce skills. This brief begins to define the relationship between social and emotional competencies and the skills today's employers seek in the workplace for state and district policymakers, educators (e.g., classroom and CTE teachers), and the business community. In this report, the authors first provide an overview of social and emotional competences (as defined by CASEL) and then describe the skills employers seek from employees. They then connect these frameworks, embedding employability skills within the social and emotional competencies framework. This brief provides perspective to help state and district leaders begin to use language and practices that support students' success in both schools and the workforce.

Early in 2019, the National Commission Report, "From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope," highlighted the urgency for new paradigms of research to practice partnerships, engaging all stakeholders in contributing to the understanding and use of data to drive social, emotional, and academic learning. Additionally, the National Commission called for the explicit teaching of social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Rigorously evaluating SEL programming with assessments that are both ecologically and psychometrically valid is a pivotal pathway to these ends. When done well, assessments can empower teacher autonomous and authentic instruction, student voice, and the continuous improvement of school culture. Simultaneously, advancing assessment methodologies also promotes the sustainability of effective SEL practices throughout the school community. Assessments that accurately capture the impact of SEL for students, their teachers, parents, and the school community can drive systemic and sustainable change and have an enduring impact on both policy and practice. In October 2019, 63 stakeholders reflecting the national social and emotional learning (SEL) assessment field participated in a full-day work session to build on the vision articulated by the Assessment Work Group's "State of the Field Report" (Assessment Work Group, 2019) and National Commission Report by generating ideas and forging partnerships to launch the most essential next phases of work related to SEL assessment. Through carefully facilitated discourse, five essential next phases of work were identified. This report shares the process and findings from the day and concludes with a plan for advancing the essential next steps as a collective through the development and sharing of introductory SEL assessment learning modules. [For "From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope: Recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, & Academic Development," see ED606337. For "Student Social and Emotional Competence Assessment: The Current State of The Field and a Vision for Its Future," see ED607094.]

Social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies or standards derive from SEL frameworks. In this report, the terms "SEL competencies" and "standards" are used interchangeably to refer to statements about "what students should know and be able to do," recognizing that states may use different terms such as "competencies," "learning goals," or "benchmarks." In 2019, 14 separate sets of K-12 "learning standards" or "competencies" were analyzed for SEL that states have developed. This report updates that previous analysis to include four additional sets of learning standards (for a total of 18 states) and provides important updates about the original 14 states. The goal in this brief is to examine the specific SEL frameworks the states use and the competencies they have articulated based on these frameworks.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. This report updates the original June 2018 "Emerging Insights" report and shares recent innovations and advancements in the ways states are advancing statewide SEL. In this brief, the authors highlight the ways state education agencies (SEAs) have developed policies and practices to promote systemic SEL within states and across their districts and schools. Specifically, they first provide information about the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning's (CASEL's) Collaborating States Initiative (CSI) and the progress of state teams. Second, the authors provide descriptive and state examples for each activity within the four focus areas of CASEL's state theory of action: build foundational support and plan for SEL, strengthen adult SEL competencies and capacities; promote student SEL; and reflect on data for continuous improvement. [For the original report, "Emerging Insights from States' Efforts to Strengthen Social and Emotional Learning," see ED586404.]

Let $T$ be an arbitrary phylogenetic tree with $n$ leaves. It is well-known that the average quartet distance between two assignments of taxa to the leaves of $T$ is $\frac 23 \binom{n}{4}$. However, a longstanding conjecture of Bandelt and Dress asserts that $(\frac 23 +o(1))\binom{n}{4}$ is also the {\em maximum} quartet distance between two assignments. While Alon, Naves, and Sudakov have shown this indeed holds for caterpillar trees, the general case of the conjecture is still unresolved. A natural extension is when partial information is given: the two assignments are known to coincide on a given subset of taxa. The partial information setting is biologically relevant as the location of some taxa (species) in the phylogenetic tree may be known, and for other taxa it might not be known. What can we then say about the average and maximum quartet distance in this more general setting? Surprisingly, even determining the {\em average} quartet distance becomes a nontrivial task in the partial information setting and determining the maximum quartet distance is even more challenging, as these turn out to be dependent of the structure of $T$. In this paper we prove nontrivial asymptotic bounds that are sometimes tight for the average quartet distance in the partial information setting. We also show that the Bandelt and Dress conjecture does not generally hold under the partial information setting. Specifically, we prove that there are cases where the average and maximum quartet distance substantially differ.

The eastern oyster is a keystone species and ecosystem engineer. However, restoration efforts of wild oysters are often unsuccessful, in that they do not produce a robust population of oysters that are able to successfully reproduce. Furthermore, the dynamics of wild oyster fertilization is not yet well understood. Through conducting an experiment predicated on quantifying the influence of elementary aspects of fertilization kinetics--sperm concentration, gamete age, and success rate--we found that, as stochastic as the mating process may seem, there are correlations which fundamentally serve as the framework for assessing long-term sustainability, reef structure, and hydrodynamic parameters in relation to fertilization. We then focused on mathematically defining a procedure which simulated a concentration distribution of a single sperm and egg release where there existed conditions necessary for breeding to take place. We found a very significant impact of both gamete age and sperm concentration on fertilization rate ($p < 0.0001$). Our hydrodynamic model demonstrates that distance can also drastically influence broadcast spawning. This could be used as a foundation for developing a flexible model for wild oyster fertilization based on placement, initial seawater conditions, and size of the starting population. The results of this research could be implemented into a more user-friendly program which would accept multiple variables as inputs and output the probability of fertilization given arbitrary values. By accounting for environmental deviations, this generalization would increase its compatibility with the public and actualize the project's intended purpose: enhance the planning of oyster reef restoration projects., Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures

Since the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) started working with state education agencies in 2003, the level of activity to advance social and emotional learning (SEL) has accelerated significantly, particularly in the past few years. State education leaders and policymakers are taking numerous steps to help districts and schools support students' social and emotional development and closely align these efforts with academic improvements. This report shares eight key insights and examples emerging from the work: (1) Since 2003, there has been growing momentum in state efforts to promote student social and emotional development, evidenced by an ever-increasing number of states that have developed policies and guidance to advance SEL; (2) Customizing SEL--each state is using an approach that works for its own districts and schools; (3) State education agency leadership is key; (4) Integration of SEL across state programs and policies is important to the ultimate success of these efforts; (5) Equity, cultural competence, and SEL are intertwined, and policymakers and educators must address them together to optimize student SEL generally and employability in particular; (6) Effective, customized messaging and communication are important to engage all the stakeholders; (7) Professional development is critical in advancing SEL, and states can play an important role in supporting districts and schools, using a variety of different approaches; and (8) A cross-state community of practice can be very powerful in advancing systemic SEL.

There is growing momentum across the country to support statewide implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) in preschool through high school. In this brief we report on how many states have developed learning standards to support SEL. We have observed commonalities in the process states have used, and we share some of the lessons we have learned.

In this brief we use the CASEL reviews of evidence-based programs to answer the question, "What do teachers and other adults actually need to do in the classroom and school to help students achieve the goals laid out in social and emotional learning (SEL) standards?" Specifically, we identify and describe four approaches that have been success-fully used to promote social and emotional development in students. One approach uses free-standing lessons that provide step-by-step instructions to teach students' social and emotional competencies. The second approach uses general teaching practices to create classroom and schoolwide conditions that facilitate and support social and emotional development in students. A third approach integrates skill instruction or practices that support SEL within the context of an academic curriculum. The fourth approach provides school leaders with guidance on how to facilitate SEL as a schoolwide initiative. The identification of these four approaches and types of strategies that support each one should help school leaders and teachers develop a comprehensive plan for developing students' social and emotional competencies.

The purpose of the CASEL State Scan is to support the development of high-quality standards for social and emotional learning (SEL), preschool through high school, across the country (Dusenbury, Zadrazil, Weiss-berg & Mart, 2011). This brief summarizes recent findings from CASEL's State Scan (Dusenbury, Newman, Weissberg, Goren, Domitrovich & Mart, in press), which reviewed the research literature on learning standards generally to identify key components of high-quality standards and assessed the status of each state in developing well-articulated learning standards for SEL, preschool through high school. This brief also provides recommendations to support development of high-quality SEL standards, including examples from states identified as part of CASEL's State Scan. We conclude with a discussion of CASEL's plans for advancing high-quality standards for SEL nationwide.

Momentum has been growing across the country to support statewide implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) in preschool through high school. In this brief we present an update on states' involvement in articulating goals and developing guidelines for student SEL. [Additional support for this work was provided by Pure Edge, Inc.]

Following a surge of research showing the importance of social and emotional competence for children's academic and social success (e.g., Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor & Schellinger, 2011; Sklad, Diekstra, Ritter, Ben & Gravesteijn, 2012), education policymakers across the country have made efforts to incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL) into state standards of learning. Today virtually all states have comprehensive, free-standing SEL standards at the preschool level, and at the K-12 level most states have made at least some efforts to integrate social and emotional competencies in other sets of academic standards, such as Health, Social Studies, or English Language Arts (Dusenbury et al., in press). However, only a few states have comprehensive, free-standing SEL standards at the K-12 level. Further, SEL standards vary substantially from state to state both in terms of quality and inclusiveness. Most striking of all is the lack of alignment between birth to preschool standards and K-12 standards in how SEL is defined and emphasized. In this brief report, the authors review the importance of SEL for children's early and sustained success. They also discuss key characteristics of high-quality SEL standards and the benefits of preschool through high school standards alignment. Finally, they review examples of two sets of well-aligned standards and make recommendations for the development and implementation of well-aligned, high-quality state standards for SEL preschool through high school.

This report summarizes results from three large-scale reviews of research on the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on elementary and middle-school students--that is, programs that seek to promote various social and emotional skills. Collectively the three reviews included 317 studies and involved 324,303 children. SEL programs yielded multiple benefits in each review and were effective in both school and after-school settings and for students with and without behavioral and emotional problems. They were also effective across the K-8 grade range and for racially and ethnically diverse students from urban, rural, and suburban settings. SEL programs improved students' social-emotional skills, attitudes about self and others, connection to school, positive social behavior, and academic performance; they also reduced students' conduct problems and emotional distress. Comparing results from these reviews to findings obtained in reviews of interventions by other research teams suggests that SEL programs are among the most successful youth-development programs offered to school-age youth. Furthermore, school staff (e.g., teachers, student support staff) carried out SEL programs effectively, indicating that they can be incorporated into routine educational practice. In addition, SEL programming improved students' academic performance by 11 to 17 percentile points across the three reviews, indicating that they offer students a practical educational benefit. Given these positive findings, we recommend that federal, state, and local policies and practices encourage the broad implementation of well-designed, evidence-based SEL programs during and after school. (Three appendixes are included: (1) Bibliography of Reviewed Universal Studies; (2) Bibliography of Reviewed Indicated Studies; (3) Bibliography of Reviewed After-School Studies. (Contains 12 tables.) [This report is supported by grants awarded to Roger P. Weissberg and Joseph A. Durlak by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago.]

This report is the first of several to come from CASEL's major meta-analysis project. The report describes the strong positive effects after-school programs can have, and the conditions needed to realize these benefits. A meta-analysis to evaluate the magnitude of effects obtained from 73 programs was conducted. Outcomes were examined in three general areas: feelings and attitudes, indicators of behavioral adjustment, and school performance. Highlighted findings include: (1) Youth who participate in after-school programs that promote personal and social skills benefit across all three outcomes; and (2) It was possible to identify effective programs. Three appendixes are included: (1) Bibliography of Reviewed Reports; (2) Program Notes; and (3) Tables Showing Effect Size by Outcome Category. (Contains 7 footnotes and 10 tables.)

This study focused on urban public schools in an effort to: (1) gather further information about the nature and extent of parent-involvement attitudes and practices in public inner-city schools; and (2) investigate the relationships among socio-demographic factors that previously have been found to be crucial for parent participation, parent perceptions of teacher practices, and actual parent involvement. The study predicted that perceived teacher outreach has stronger associations with parent involvement than do socio-demographic variables. Specifically, the study hypothesized that the more teacher outreach parents perceive, the higher their involvement levels will be both at home and at school. Parents from three inner-city elementary schools in a large Midwestern city were surveyed. Findings indicated that parents whose children attend inner-city public schools make significant efforts to be involved in their child's education both at home and at school, in spite of adverse conditions such as low education and Socio-economic Status. However, several forms of school involvement, such as volunteering in the classroom, did not occur frequently. Parent perception of teacher outreach was the only variable that was statistically significant in predicting parent involvement both at home and at school. (Contains 21 references.) (EV)

The School-Family Partnership (SFP) project at the University of Illinois at Chicago created a self-assessment tool to measure perceptions and practices of teachers and parents, with the overall mission of identifying and developing effective SFP practices. Parent questionnaires, in English and Spanish, and a teacher questionnaire were developed. The parent questionnaire covered parent involvement at home and school and their perceptions of teacher outreach. The teacher questionnaire covered similar aspects of involvement and outreach. Of the 272 parents who completed the questionnaire, 84% were the mother or stepmother of the child. Of the 43 teachers who completed the questionnaire, 73% had more than 5 years of teaching experience. In response to views expressed by parents and teachers, a number of SFP activities were enhanced or implemented. Parents were given tips to assist their children with homework more effectively, and they were encouraged to read with their children and take them to the library. Teachers were assisted to develop positive notes or certificates to inform parents of something good their child did. Teachers were also offered helpful tips on how to create newsletters and other informative documents, and they were given helpful ideas to maximize the benefits of a parent-teacher conference. Appendixes contain the parent questionnaire in English and Spanish and the teacher questionnaire. (SLD)

A study examined whether written language in general and dialog journal writing in particular is the preferred vehicle for syntactic acquisition of some adult learners. Subjects were five adult English-as-second-language (ESL) students, all literate in their first language, which was Spanish. Subjects were observed over a period of 16 weeks. Interviews, questionnaires, and a variety of paired oral and written tasks were used to elicit language data. The samples were analyzed for a variety of English morpho-syntactic features in an attempt to determine which of three production modalities (speech, academic writing, or dialog journal writing) served as the primary medium for syntactic innovation and the development of syntactic accuracy. Results indicated that individual subjects demonstrated notable differences in their patterns of syntactic development across writing and speech. Findings suggest that writing in general, especially dialog journal writing, is the modality favored by most of the subjects for both syntactic innovation and accuracy. (Contains 4 tables of data and 15 references.) (Author/CR)

Schools should build comprehensive programs that help children develop socially and emotionally. As a result, students will become competent in ways that can help them learn better and avoid problem behaviors. Comprehensive social and emotional development programs are based on the understanding that many different kinds of behaviors are caused by the same risk factors. Prevention programs are most effective when multiyear integrated efforts incorporate parent and community involvement. An ambitious prevention program has been in development for 6 years in New Haven (Connecticut). The program is for all students in kindergarten through grade 12, and it aims to promote social and emotional development. A curriculum was developed to provide classroom instruction targeting social development. School and community activities were then created to promote opportunities outside the classroom, and each school's mental health team worked to ensure the planning and implementation of programs. The project has reported reductions in problem behaviors and has been well received by students, teachers, and parents. The New Haven experience illustrates the importance of developmentally appropriate, integrated programs that address many aspects of student development. Student engagement and multilevel instruction are essential to an approach that supports full growth and development. (SLD)