Fostering and Measuring Skills: Interventions That Improve Character and Cognition

James Heckman and Tim Kautz ()
Additional contact information
Tim Kautz: Mathematica Policy Research

No 7750, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper reviews the recent literature on measuring and boosting cognitive and noncognitive skills. The literature establishes that achievement tests do not adequately capture character skills – personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences that are valued in the labor market, in school, and in many other domains. Their predictive power rivals that of cognitive skills. Reliable measures of character have been developed. All measures of character and cognition are measures of performance on some task. In order to reliably estimate skills from tasks, it is necessary to standardize for incentives, effort, and other skills when measuring any particular skill. Character is a skill, not a trait. At any age, character skills are stable across different tasks, but skills can change over the life cycle. Character is shaped by families, schools, and social environments. Skill development is a dynamic process, in which the early years lay the foundation for successful investment in later years. High-quality early childhood and elementary school programs improve character skills in a lasting and cost-effective way. Many of them beneficially affect later-life outcomes without improving cognition. There are fewer long-term evaluations of adolescent interventions, but workplace-based programs that teach character skills are promising. The common feature of successful interventions across all stages of the life cycle through adulthood is that they promote attachment and provide a secure base for exploration and learning for the child. Successful interventions emulate the mentoring environments offered by successful families.

Keywords: interventions; skill development; achievement tests; character (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 I20 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 125 pages
Date: 2013-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-neu and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (87)

Published - published in: J. Heckman, J.E. Humphries, and T. Kautz (eds.), The Myth of Achievement Tests: The GED and the Role of Character in American Life, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014

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Related works:
Working Paper: Fostering and Measuring Skills: Interventions That Improve Character and Cognition (2013)
Working Paper: Fostering and Measuring Skills: Interventions That Improve Character and Cognition (2013)
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