The Assessment of Social and Emotional Competency (ASEC) measures non-cognitive learning factors such as academic self-regulation, grit, and social and emotional competence. These factors are integral to a student’s effective learning and overall educational experience. ASEC measures five domains: self-awareness, self-management, self-regulation, grit, and social skills.

The Assessment of Social and Emotional Competency (ASEC) measures non-cognitive learning factors such as academic self-regulation, grit, and social and emotional competence. These factors are integral to a student’s effective learning and overall educational experience. ASEC measures five domains: self-awareness, self-management, self-regulation, grit, and social skills.

ASEC assess Grit and Academic Self-regulation in addition to CASEL’s SEL constructs: Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness, and Relationship Skills. Moreover, ASEC reports two scores — Criterion-referenced (scores are compared to a set standard) and normreferenced scores (scores are compared to a norm group). ASEC also provides differentiated recommendations based on the student’s results, strategies at home, how to implement SEL in the classroom, as well as school-wide intervention planning guide.

ASEC was conceptualized through the evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) framework by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), along with technical advisers who are well-known in their respective fields. The group of advisers also identified the need to assess two more non-cognitive factors that are integral in learning — Grit and Academic Self-regulation. The content of all the subtests were developed through a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and item-writing workshops with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who are Mental Health practitioners in the school setting. Test items were also identified through the CASEL SEL Framework, theory of Grit by Angela Duckworth, and theory of Academic self-regulation by Barry Zimmerman. Initial items were then subjected to a series of extensive reviews by panels of SMEs for content validation, and a pilot test was done for the tests of reliability and validity. Psychometric analysis of the assessment was then made to ensure its quality and functionality.

The results of the assessment will help stakeholders to:

• Determine the strengths and areas for improvements in non-cognitive factors of learning
• Establish a benchmark of social and emotional learning and assess progress after implementation of interventions
• Design teaching strategies and facilitation that will improve student’s social and emotional competence.

• The result of ASEC consists of Personalized Learner Profile for those who are involve in the student’s social and emotional learning, Group Learning Profile for school teachers and guidance counselors use, and Institutional Social and Emotional Competency (SEC) Report for teachers, guidance counselors, and school principal use.
• Personalized Learner Profile (PLP) – provides a graphical display and description of the individual’s social and emotional competence. o Test Background and Summary Report – covers the assessment’s description and student’s summary of strengths and weaknesses. o Assessment Results Student – highlights the student performance in each social and emotional construct based on a predetermined criterion and also in comparison to norm groups. o SEL and Academic Skills – presents the importance of Social-Emotional Learning to specific subject areas and the suggested activities on English, Mathematics, and Science that may help improve social and emotional competency of the learners. o Strategies at Home – enumerates the strategies at home that parents can provide to target specific domains that needs improvement
• Group Learning Profile (GLP) – provides the test background, assessment results per class in graphical representation and score cards, as well as recommendations on how to integrate SEC results to teaching strategies
• Institutionalized SEC Report (ISR) – shows the purpose of the report, key insights in institutional level, and assessment results per domain and overall across grade levels in graphical and table representations. The ISR also recommends intervention planning guide as well as specific strategies and activities

ASEC can be or is recommended to be administered twice a year during the beginning and end of the school year. A pretest and posttest are recommended to determine if the student’s SEL improved after implementing interventions or integrating SEL to teaching strategies.

ASEC is administered for fifty (50) minutes. The provided time allotment is the most ideal when administering ASEC, therefore it is highly advised not to exceed these time allotments or make unnecessary adjustments.

For Paper and Pencil modality, ASEC uses Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) answer sheets for scanning based on shaded responses. For the Computer-based Testing (CBT), the responses will be downloaded from the system/platform. A cut-off of 50% responses is set in each area to have sufficient evidence in determining the level of social and emotional competency of students. Should a student was not able to meet the required percentage of responses; his/her results will not be generated and will be considered as absent. All responses are processed into reports by registered Psychometricians (RPms). A Quality Assurance (QA) team then reviews the generated reports to be printed out and delivered to the schools either virtually and/or physically

The reports will be delivered twenty-one (21) working days after the testing date for both local and international schools

During test administration, GRACE consolidates the names of students that were unable to take the test, and endorse them to the school principal/administrator for absentee testing. Students are considered absent if:  they were not able to meet the required percentage (at least 50%) of responses per area/construct  they missed the whole test It is upon the prerogative of the school to allow another examination date for the absentees; data from the absentee test results however would no longer be included in the Group Learning Profile (class report) and Institutionalized SEC Report (school report). In addition, their Personalized Learner Profile (individual reports) will be delivered. within the appointed working days after the said date