The Impact of Non-Cognitive Skills on Literacy Measures

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the potential relationship between non-cognitive (“soft”) skill development and cognitive (“hard”) skill development through a semi-quasi experiment that tested the impact of a specific intervention on a small sampling size of sixth-grade students. The study hypothesized that there would be no significant statistical impact on the experimental group when comparing posttest results on the i-Ready Reading Diagnostic Assessment. The study employed the use of a targeted, non-cognitive skill intervention on a sample size of 20 students. The null hypothesis was confirmed, and the results of this study determined that there was, in fact, no statistically significant impact when comparing the experimental and control group. The results of this study help to support the need for more research regarding which specific interventions are successful when attempting to increase non-cognitive skill development as well as which accurate tools could be employed when measuring such interventions.