Cognitive Skills
How do we design schools that empower students with transferable lifelong skills?
Cognitive Skills — such as developing an argumentative claim, presenting a clear idea, and interpreting data — are essential for success in college and career.
That's why Summit Learning emphasizes the development of students' cognitive skills. Summit created a single, research-based Cognitive Skills Rubric based on feedback from hundreds of educators, and validated by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE).
Summit created a single, research-based Cognitive Skills Rubric based on feedback from hundreds of educators, and validated by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE).
The Summit Learning Cognitive Skills Rubric is an assessment and instruction tool that outlines the continuum of 36 interdisciplinary, higher-order thinking skills (pictured here) that are necessary for college and career readiness.
They are broken down into seven (7) categories: Speaking & Listening; Writing/Composing; Analysis & Synthesis, Inquiry, Using Sources, Textual Analysis, and Products & Presentations (see diagram above).
Furthermore, these skills are also aligned with the top skills that employers say they’re seeking, including: Complex problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, creativity, and the ability to coordinate with others. (Source: “The 10 Skills Employers All Want in 2015 Graduates”, Forbes Magazine, November 2014.)
Students are graded on a continuum of 0-8. So by the time a student is a senior, they should be scoring in higher ranges.
