The Importance of School Spending, ‘Soft Skills’ and Teacher Quality

Economist Kirabo Jackson aims to find a better way of identifying excellent teachers, based on both cognitive and "soft" skills that will allow students to succeed in adulthood.

 

Economist Kirabo Jackson aims to find a better way of identifying excellent teachers, based on both cognitive and "soft" skills that will allow students to succeed in adulthood.

 

As a Carnegie Fellow from 2016, Kirabo Jackson looks at success in school from all different angles. And he is quick to point out that there are a lot of ways to measure success, both for students and teachers. The important thing is finding the right mix of data to single out the truly exceptional.

"I want to see whether the teachers who are improving the behaviors that I described are the ones who are improving measures of grit and the self-reported measures of soft skills."

The 74 Interview: Kirabo Jackson on the Importance of School Spending, ‘Soft Skills’ and Teacher Quality