Are Students on Track? Comparing the Predictive Validity of Administrative and Survey Measures of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills for Long-Term Outcomes

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Are Students on Track? Comparing the Predictive Validity of Administrative and Survey Measures of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills for Long-Term Outcomes
Language: English
Authors: Christopher Cleveland (ORCID 0000-0002-8619-6088), Ethan Scherer (ORCID 0000-0002-6548-7724)
Source: Educational Researcher. 2025 54(4):213-225.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Contract Number: R305B150010
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools
Middle Schools
Secondary Education
Elementary Education
Grade 8
Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Middle School Students, Grade 8, Student Surveys, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Predictive Validity, Thinking Skills, Soft Skills, Long Term Memory, Graduation Rate, Cognitive Development, Longitudinal Studies, College Enrollment, Time to Degree, Academic Persistence, Strategic Planning, Educational Policy
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X251321422
ISSN: 0013-189X
1935-102X
Abstract: Education leaders need valid metrics to predict students' long-term success. We use a unique data set with cognitive skills, self-regulation, behavior, course performance, and test scores for eighth-grade students from a Northeast school district. We link these data to students' high school outcomes, college enrollment, persistence, and on-time degree completion. Survey-based cognitive and self-regulation measures predict high school and college outcomes. However, these relationships become small and lose statistical significance when test scores, grade point average, and an absences-suspensions index are included in the predictive models. For leaders hoping to identify the best on-track indicators for college completion, the information collected in student longitudinal data systems better predicts both short- and long-term educational outcomes than the survey-based self-regulation and cognitive measures.
Abstractor: As Provided
IES Funded: Yes
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1468379
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Education leaders need valid metrics to predict students' long-term success. We use a unique data set with cognitive skills, self-regulation, behavior, course performance, and test scores for eighth-grade students from a Northeast school district. We link these data to students' high school outcomes, college enrollment, persistence, and on-time degree completion. Survey-based cognitive and self-regulation measures predict high school and college outcomes. However, these relationships become small and lose statistical significance when test scores, grade point average, and an absences-suspensions index are included in the predictive models. For leaders hoping to identify the best on-track indicators for college completion, the information collected in student longitudinal data systems better predicts both short- and long-term educational outcomes than the survey-based self-regulation and cognitive measures.
ISSN:0013-189X
1935-102X
DOI:10.3102/0013189X251321422