As education focuses on preparing students for life beyond the classroom, the importance of durable skills—such as communication, critical thinking, and collaboration—has become more critical than ever. In fact, seven out of ten of the most requested skills in job postings are durable skills. While their value is widely recognized, accurately measuring these skills within the K-12 system remains a significant challenge.
America Succeeds Durable Skills Advantage Framework.
What Are Durable Skills?
Durable skills, sometimes called soft skills or 21st-century skills, extend beyond academic achievements. These skills are crucial for students to adapt, problem-solve, and thrive in diverse environments. Unlike traditional academic subjects, durable skills are more complex, multifaceted, and context-dependent, making them difficult to quantify using conventional assessment methods.
Challenges Associated With Measuring Durable Skills:
The Subjectivity of Measurement in Durable Skills
One of the main challenges in measuring durable skills is their subjective nature. For instance, in organizations, communication and problem-solving are essential skills that are difficult to standardize, they show up differently based on the job and situation. This same challenge is present in K-12 education, where durable skills like critical thinking might be interpreted differently by various educators. Without a universal framework, these differences lead to inconsistent assessments, making it challenging to track and measure progress accurately across classrooms and schools.
For example, while one teacher may emphasize the analytical aspects of critical thinking, another may focus on creativity in problem-solving. Such discrepancies highlight the need for a more cohesive approach to defining and measuring durable skills in education.
Demonstrating Growth Over Time
Durable skills are developed through repeated practice, reflection, and real-world application over several years. This long-term growth complicates measurement, as schools may not have systems in place to track these skills over extended periods.
Economist David Deming’s “social lubricant model” illustrates how such skills function as a vital part of teamwork and collaboration, enhancing productivity and problem-solving capabilities. In educational settings, this aligns with collaborative learning environments where durable skills are crucial but also vary greatly depending on student interests and experiences. This variability further complicates attempts to create standardized assessments for tracking durable skills over time.
Integrating Durable Skills Into Traditional Assessment Systems
Traditional K-12 systems often emphasize academic success through standardized testing, leaving limited room for evaluating less tangible competencies. Integrating durable skills into these frameworks requires a shift from quantitative measures to more formative, qualitative assessments. However, schools face the added challenge of balancing time to teach and assess these skills with the need to meet state reporting requirements for academic outcomes.
To address this, some schools are adopting tools like digital portfolios, allowing students to showcase their learning process and reflect on their development. Yet, even with these tools, creating a scalable and universally accepted model remains difficult. This struggle mirrors that of organizations where durable skills are valued but lack standardized, objective evaluation methods.
Equity and Measurement of Durable Skills
Another consideration is ensuring that durable skills are measured equitably. Students from diverse backgrounds may have varying opportunities to develop and showcase these skills due to differences in resources, backgrounds, and support systems. This disparity creates unequal chances for students to demonstrate competencies, as seen in different occupational sectors where the growing demand for durable skills has varied implications depending on the level of support available.
Banaowsha Mikhael and her family out for a meal.
One student who faced this hardship firsthand was Banaowsha Mikhael, from Magnolia Elementary School at the Cajon Valley Union School District in California. In 2015, she joined the school as a fifth-grade Iraqi refugee. Banaowsha led a “TED-style” discussion on her refugee status, how it affected her education, and how she began to build on what she’d learned to help translate for other kids. Banaowsha actions encouraged the Superintendent of Cajon Valley Union schools, David Miyashiro, to develop objective measures to track students’ durable skills—and give students like Banaowsha credit for their successes.
The initiative led by America Succeeds and CompTIA to develop a common lexicon for durable skills is a critical step in this direction. This effort emphasizes the need for a consistent understanding across industries and education systems to create equitable opportunities for all students. Their work illustrates the necessity of creating rubrics that account for diverse backgrounds and experiences, ensuring that all students have the chance to demonstrate their skills effectively, regardless of socioeconomic status.
The Path Forward: Towards Meaningful Assessment of Durable Skills
The solution lies in innovative and flexible approaches to assessment. Adopting tools that prioritize student agency, such as digital portfolios, and using competency-based assessments that emphasize ongoing development over final outcomes, are promising strategies. For instance, North Carolina provides a strong model by implementing rubrics, “I can” statements, and performance tasks across four grade bands. Using a three-point scale, educators assess students' ability to independently demonstrate age-appropriate skills, offering a structured yet adaptable approach to durable skills assessment.
Additionally, frameworks with clear, observable behaviors can help establish more objective and consistent measurement systems. A rubric for communication, for example, might include criteria like “demonstrates active listening” or “effectively articulates ideas,” providing specific indicators that guide evaluations and feedback. Building a shared understanding through collaboration among educators, administrators, students, parents, and communities is essential. A consistent and inclusive approach ensures that all students, regardless of background, have opportunities to develop and demonstrate these critical skills.
3 FAQs For Durable Skills
Here are the most commonly asked questions about durable skills.
How can I teach durable skills?
You can teach durable skills by creating opportunities for students to actively practice them and by providing regular feedback. Encourage students to apply these skills in real-world contexts, and foster a classroom culture where they can ask for guidance to improve. These skills, from communication to problem-solving, will serve them daily in school and beyond.
What are the top five durable skills?
The top five durable skills are communication, critical thinking, collaboration, resilience, and leadership. These skills are fundamental for preparing students for future success and are highly valued across all industries and job roles, regardless of location or educational background.
Why are durable skills important in today's workforce?
Durable skills are essential in today's workforce because they equip individuals to adapt to evolving job demands and complex work environments. Unlike technical skills, which may become outdated, durable skills like communication, critical thinking, and resilience remain relevant across industries. These skills help employees collaborate effectively, solve problems creatively, and lead with empathy, making them invaluable for long-term career success and organizational growth.
Measuring durable skills in K-12 education is a complex but necessary endeavor. While challenges such as subjectivity, long-term tracking, integration into existing systems, and equity persist, the growing emphasis on these skills points toward a more personalized and meaningful approach to assessment. By leveraging innovative tools and fostering collaboration among educators, we can build a system that values the full spectrum of student abilities, ensuring they are prepared for life beyond the classroom.
