Conflict of Interest Disclosure

e proposed committee is composed of individuals across key areas of expertise required to carry out the study of assessing intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. The proposed committee members have expertise in educational measurement; educational and developmental psychology; assessment and accountability policies in K-12 and higher education; persistence in higher education; and economics, with a focus on the demand for intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies in the labor market. The primary candidates include five women and six men. Of the 11 primary candidates proposed, 2 are from underrepresented minority groups. The proposed committee includes three candidates who have not served on a prior NRC committee.

The proposed chair, Joan Herman, has a long history of research and practice in educational assessment, with a focus on formative assessment to guide instruction. A member of the Board on Testing and Assessment, her recent research has focused on assessing deeper learning and cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal competencies. She chaired the prior BOTA workshop on Assessing 21st Century Skills and was a member of the committee that authored Education for Life and Work –two prior activities that are foundational to the current study. Two other candidates—Greg Duncan (NAS) and Patrick Kyllonen also served on both of those projects. Together, these three candidates provide important continuity for the proposed committee.

The proposed committee integrates research,development, and practice perspectives on intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. Greg Duncan has conducted rigorous research on the relationships between various competencies and educational and employment outcomes, while David Bills studies employer hiring and the relationship between education and career. Brian Stecher recently authored a report outlining a research agenda for assessing intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies, while Patrick Kyllonen has developed and tested measures of these competencies for use in higher education admissions. Frederick Oswald has developed and tested an assessment of interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies that predicts undergraduate persistence.

The nominees also provide research and practice perspectives on education. Corbin Campbell conducts research on the quality and outcomes of higher education that seeks to move beyond current accountability metrics. Jonathon Plucker conducts research on creativity, while also serving as a consultant to the practice-oriented Partnership for 21st Century Schools.

Finally, the proposed committee includes expertise in the factors that support persistence in higher education. Tabbye Chavous studies intrapersonal competencies developed within African-American families and communities that may be tapped to support persistence in undergraduate STEM majors, while Sylvia Hurtado has developed new metrics for higher education accountability that consider institutions’ progress in supporting and retaining minority students. K. Ann Renninger has investigated how several intrapersonal competencies are related to each other and to achievement and persistence in undergraduate STEM majors.