Due in large part to research pioneered in economics by Nobel laureate James J. Heckman, there is a robust and growing body of evidence that noncognitive skills function similarly to cognitive skills, strongly improving labor-market outcomes. These noncognitive skills—often referred to in the economics literature as soft skills and elsewhere as social, emotional, and behavioral skills—include qualities like perseverance, conscientiousness, and self-control, as well as social skills and leadership ability (Duckworth and Yeager 2015). The value of these qualities in the labor market has increased over time as the mix of jobs has shifted toward positions requiring noncognitive skills. Evidence suggests that the labor-market payoffs to noncognitive skills have been increasing over time and the payoffs are particularly strong for individuals who possess both cognitive and noncognitive skills (Deming 2015; Weinberger 2014).

Although we draw a conceptual distinction between noncognitive skills and cognitive skills, it is not possible to disentangle these concepts fully. All noncognitive skills involve cognition, and some portion of performance on cognitive tasks is made possible by noncognitive skills. For the purposes of this document, the term cognitive skills” encompasses intelligence; the ability to process, learn, think, and reason; and substantive knowledge as reflected in indicators of academic achievement. Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, education policy has focused on accountability policies aimed at improving cognitive skills and closing test score gaps across groups. These policies have been largely successful, particularly for math achievement (Dee and Jacob 2011; Wong, Cook, and Steiner 2009) and among students most exposed to accountability pressure (Neal and Schanzenbach 2010). What has received less attention in policy debates is the importance of noncognitive skills.

To varying degrees, the ability to acquire noncognitive skills is heritable: some individuals have an inherently easier time getting along with others, just as some can more easily acquire cognitive skills and others can more easily maintain a healthy weight (Knudsen et al. 2006). As with cognitive skills, gaps in skill levels are evident by differences in parental education (see figure A). Children of parents who did not complete high school score almost 20 percentiles lower on a measure of noncognitive skills and nearly 40 percentiles lower on a measure of cognitive skills when compared with children of at least one parent with some postsecondary education. Critically, though, both noncognitive and cognitive skills can be developed, nurtured, and taught (Heckman and Kautz 2013).

A recent survey of hiring managers suggests that they are at least as concerned by deficits in concognitive skills as they are by lack of cognitive skills (PayScale 2016). While fewer than 20 percent of hiring managers said that recent graduates lacked the math skills needed for the work, more than half said that recent graduates lacked attention to detail. About equal shares of hiring managers saw deficiencies in writing proficiency and communication—the cognitive and noncognitive aspects, respectively, of a single skill. About a third of hiring managers said recent college graduates lacked data analysis and teamwork skills.

These economic facts make the case that development of noncognitive skills is critical for promoting success in the labor market, because:

Today’s jobs demand more noncognitive skills than did jobs in the past (Fact 1);

The labor market increasingly rewards noncognitive skills (Fact 2, Fact 3);

Those with fewer noncognitive skills are being left behind (Fact 4).

Whereas the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 put particular emphasis on increasing cognitive skills, the Every Student Succeeds Act that replaced it in 2015 requires that states include an additional indicator of student or school quality (e.g., chronic absenteeism). To this end, it is imperative that we leverage the potential to develop noncognitive skills in school settings, considering that:

Noncognitive skill development interventions improve student achievement and reduce behavior-related problems (Fact 5);

Preschool interventions emphasizing cognitive and noncognitive skill development have long-term economic benefits for participants (Fact 6);

A teacher’s ability to improve noncognitive skills has more effect on graduation rates than does her ability to raise test scores (Fact 7).

The Hamilton Project was founded on the belief that long-term prosperity is best achieved by fostering both economic growth and broad participation in that growth, and that there is a role for effective government to make needed public investments. Ensuring that all young people are well prepared to flourish in the modern labor market helps to achieve both goals. As we learn more about cognitive and noncognitive skills, it is critical that we adjust our educational policies to make the best possible use of new evidence.