What skills separate high achievers from low and average achievers? To find out, we conducted a ten-year investigation into 47 different state testing systems. By collecting and analyzing test items and then giving “test samplers” to students at differing achievement levels, we learned something surprising: Student success had very little to do with content knowledge. Instead, student success rested heavily on a set of twelve core skills that cut across all content areas. In addition, we found that these skills were radically under-taught, rarely benchmarked, and in some cases, never mentioned in state curriculum documents. That’s why we call these skills, so critical to student success, The Hidden Skills of Academic Literacy.

Click Image for Larger View