There may be a better way for teachers to help their students ace those pesky standardized tests and improve in their overall academics, and thus enable educators to remain employed, based on their students’ high performance.

We are continuing to learn that social skills and emotional awareness may be a child’s best strategy for excelling both in their academics and personal endeavors. A recent report released in February of this past year states that kids who participate in programs involving social and emotional learning, aids in better grades and stronger test results. Apparently, children in such programs, scored about 11% higher on tests than their peers who were uninvolved in the same programs. But these figures translate more than just a strong academic student. Students exposed to these types of programs also had fewer issues with behavioral or disciplinary problems and were more likely to be socially, confident, and outgoing with their friends, teachers, and parents.

As student performance in areas like math and science continues to stagnate and fall behind many other nations, maybe it is wrong for our government and education systems to solely focus on revitalizing these subjects. Teachers would be wise to recognize that social and emotional skills, which seem so basic, are actually the foundational capabilities for students to possess in order for them to achieve in subjects like math, science, English etc.  These skills can better allow students to build strong self awareness and self-discipline, leading to more empathetic individuals who get along with their peers, and make educated and rational decisions.