Written in the last words...

Non-standardized assessment in education has always been a worldwide problem. For any country, it faces the problem of safeguarding social equity and overcoming the personal biases of admissions officers. The reason why they are called "non-standardized" is that these personality qualities must not be quantified like test results and competition results, and we are well aware of how important these invisible, untouchable, public and reasonable factors are to a person and to the development of a society!

Using the summer time, we have sorted out eight personality qualities that are highly valued in the college admissions process: "compassion, curiosity, gratitude, perseverance, growth thinking, empathy, will, and self-control". The cause lies in the waves stirred up by the landing of the "double reduction policy" that is hotly discussed in society. Online sentiments like "also forbid teachers from giving their children make-up lessons" are sometimes really ridiculous. But if you think about it carefully, there are also emotional demands for "social fairness" and concerns about keeping the bottom line of social fairness in the college entrance examination. Reducing the burden on students inside and outside the classroom is a good thing, so that our educational resources are concentrated on more personality quality cultivation in addition to knowledge, which is also the purpose of quality education that has been diligently pursued for more than 20 years. Sorting out these eight key character elements of non-cognitive ability is also a hope to think deeply with you about the development of quality education and the reform of the college entrance examination.

I also know that in this era of pan-entertainment and shallow reading of "headline party" and "short video", we all like to click on exciting articles like "the end of the world", and we also like to watch entertainment materials such as "Today there is a melon again". However, education has always been a serious matter, at least I think that education has always been such an area that cannot be generally entertained, whether you click, collect, or retweet my articles and public accounts, or tire your nerves and take up your rest time. It may be that I was wrong, but holding on to solitude is also a pleasure, isn't it!

These eight key personalities and non-cognitive abilities were the result of three years of research under the "Turning the Tide" project of the Harvard Institute of Education's "Caring Together" project. These research results refer to the mature social science research results, including psychology, education, sociology, etc. The social sciences may not give us a definitive, standardized conclusion like the natural sciences, nor will they have immediate results like the engineering sciences. However, when our cognition becomes a kind of "social recognition", it is necessary to combine these results with educational practices and university admissions practices.

These eight points are neither a vision of future goals nor an initiative. Rather, it is what admissions officers want to see through all aspects of application paperwork, extracurricular activities, recommender recommendations, and character appraisals. The Harvard Institute gives specific examples and provides specific methods under the definition of each point. Reducing the proportion of standardized admissions and alleviating the pressure on students and families in the arms race of standardized examinations is both a trend and a reality. He is not "metaphysics" or "touching great luck".

In fact, there is no shortage of education in our country. The question is how to establish such an evaluation mechanism and a supervision and constraint mechanism to ensure fairness and overcome prejudice in education and enrollment, so as not to face the future of "fighting daddy" for the next generation.

These eight non-cognitive abilities and key personality qualities are carefully analyzed, and they are actually related to the following aspects:

Good interpersonal relationships. Compassion, curiosity, gratitude, empathy will help you build good relationships, and we know that good relationships are an important foundation for a person's success and happiness.

Excellent learning ability. Lifelong learning is a modern learning concept, and there is no kind of knowledge that will become your ability and skill to support your family after 2 years, 4 years later, and 10 years later. Curiosity, willpower, perseverance, and self-control can not only effectively improve students' academic performance, but also establish good interpersonal relationships and adapt to the changing and developing needs of future society.

Healthy mental state. Money is no longer the only measure of happiness and happiness. Gratitude, compassion, empathy may allow you to achieve happiness, contentment, and happiness in a simpler way.

De-utilitarian tendencies. Extracurricular activities, application documents, and recommenders are increasingly moving towards the utilitarian quagmire, so that we don't know what to write, why we should do these extracurricular activities, and what the teacher recommends. With these eight guides, perhaps we can find our original intention and find the direction we are trying to find.

Of course, just having these eight is not enough. Many schools will put forward their own values and missions, listing their own valued personality qualities.

A perfect match is the key to a successful application!

That's it. I hope that there will be time to share the results of the assessment tools, forms, specific examples, personality matching and so on in this report. Thank you for your reading and support!

Personality evaluation in college admissions

One of the key traits and non-cognitive abilities in college admissions is empathy and curiosity

Gratitude/Perseverance/Growth Mindset – Key personality and non-cognitive abilities in college admissions

American college application essay asks you: Is it happy to have money? Generosity and gratitude are the two keys to success and happiness