According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 30% of high school students reported concerns related to mental health, such as feelings of sadness or hopelessness since the Pandemic.

Further, EMA’s Effects of COVID-19 on Educational Outcomes report also revealed that for both middle and upper level students (grades 5-7 and 8-11, respectively), intellectual engagement, resilience, and self-control decreased.

Character should be at the forefront of education.

When it comes to finding the right fit, both cognitive and noncognitive skills are important for a fair assessment of a student. As discovered during EMA interviews, families often express a desire to share a comprehensive picture of their students during the admission process. These families are also interested in applying to schools that not only provide top-quality education but also overall development for their children.

The better you understand your applicants, the stronger your admissions process. The Snapshot is the answer to the question: How do we better measure students’ essential character skills, improve independent school admissions practices, address bias and grade inflation, and support the current strengths and emerging skills of all students?

“In some cases, the Snapshot brought to light areas of a student’s character we hadn’t considered. In other cases, the Snapshot report helped us fill in missing pieces. Beyond the assessment piece, the Snapshot has also given us a profile of our incoming class—the strengths and challenges.”

- ANGELA ELLEDGE, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION, MARIST SCHOOL (GA)

Better understand your applicants for a more holistic admissions process.

In the last few years, it has become more important to understand students’ academic levels and also their non-cognitive skills, such as social-emotional learning skills for example.

The Character Skills Snapshot (Snapshot) is an assessment designed to measure noncognitive skills, also known as:

· Character skills

· 21st-century skills

· Psychosocial skills

· Soft skills

· Social-emotional learning skills

The newly updated 2023 Character Skills Snapshot Manual provides an overview of the development, administration, and continued evaluation of the Snapshot. Primarily written for teachers, administrators, families, students, and other stakeholders, Sections 4 and 5 of the Snapshot manual include detailed statistical information about the assessment that may be of interest to scientists and psychometricians.

The manual starts with a brief description of the Snapshot, followed by an explanation of its intended use and administrative procedures. This initial introduction to the Snapshot provides an overview of how the instrument should be used, with whom, and how a student can take the Snapshot. Next, the manual provides detailed information about the development of the Snapshot, including how items were developed and statistical analyses conducted. The manual ends by sharing the next steps to continue investigations of the Character Skills Snapshot.

Download the 2023 Character Skills Snapshot Assessment Manual to help you get the most value out of this unique assessment by better understanding the Snapshot scores, and, as a result, get a better understanding of your applicants within your holistic admissions process.

The EMA Character Skills Snapshot has been developed as a reliable and valid measurement tool to assess students’ noncognitive skills. The design of the assessment is a result of extensive research drawn and conducted by EMA’s Think Tank on the Future of Assessment Research, independent school enrollment leaders, teachers and faculty, and educational Testing Service (ETS). It went through a rigorous development and testing process involving multiple stages and was pilot-tested on 12,000 students before its launch.