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...

There exists substantial variation in how schools allocate instruction time to school subjects. The effectiveness of that allocation depends on the immediate effect of instruction in one subject on achievement in the same subject, on how skills further develop over time, and on possible...

IQ tests and achievement tests do not capture non-cognitive skills — personality traits, goals, character and motivations that are valued in the labour market, in school and elsewhere. For many outcomes, their predictive power rivals or exceeds that of cognitive skills. Skills are stable...