Two Kinds of Academic Outcomes
Content Skills and Transferable Skills
Academic outcomes are part of every school program—but how you define and assess those outcomes can vary depending on your students, goals, and instructional approach.
We often group academic skills into two categories:
- Content Skills are subject-specific skills, like multiplying single-digit numbers in math or using reading comprehension strategies. These are typically measured with more traditional assessments and often have clear right or wrong answers—either a student has mastered the skill or they haven’t.
- Transferable Skills are broader and show up across subjects. For example, writing a strong argument is a skill students might use in ELA, math, science, or social studies.
We’ll revisit content skills later in the training. For now, let’s focus on transferable skills.
A Closer Look at the Academic Skills Rubric
As you saw in the portfolio, the Academic Skills Rubric includes three broad criteria, each broken down into concrete, observable skills:
- Learning the Content – Do students understand the topic or problem deeply enough to explain it in their own words?
- Building a Strong Argument – Can students support their ideas with evidence and reasoning
- Communicating Ideas Clearly – Are students able to present their thinking in a way that informs and motivates others?
Directions: Look at the completed rubrics from the portfolio (shown again below). Consider:
- What transferable skills are assessed under each category?Â
- How does the rubric help students assess their proficiency or progress on those skills?Â
- What differences do you notice about how Ms. Emiily and Nicholos evaluated Nicholas’ work?
- How could Ms. Emily use that information to lead a conversation with Nicholas?
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