10 Stephanie M. Wolf, EdD the thoughts and backgrounds of others, and awareness of current events. All other Cross-cutting SEL skills were considered an area for improvement or a limitation for recent high graduates. Most participants referenced the need for graduates to know how to communicate professionally with adults verbally and in writing. Participant references included the desire for graduates who are willing to learn and grow, form healthy relationships, overcome challenges, make responsible decisions, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and know how they can contribute to the whole. Conclusion Students need many skills to be ready to face the demands, challenges, responsibilities, and excitement of life after graduation. Students need more than just academic skills, knowledge, and cognitive skills for CCMR. Students need to be made aware of and have opportunities to build vital SEL skills in school. As schools strive to implement SEL programs, special consideration needs to be given to aligning SEL programs to CCMR for high school students. Most post-secondary institutions already know the importance of graduates having the SEL skills they need to be ready for college, a career, or the military. It is time for schools to do their part and provide a holistic education that better prepares students for life-long success, improves overall mental health, and promotes a well-rounded foundation. When schools make the decision to focus on and heighten the importance of the deficit SEL abilities of students, graduates will reap the benefits of being more equipped with the skills they need to thrive in college, the workforce, and the military. References ASPEN Institute. (2019). From a nation at risk to a nation at hope. ASPEN Institute. https://files.eric.ed.gov fulltext/ED606337.pdf Bobek, B., Burrus, J., Camara, W., Hanson, M. A., Casillas, A., Gambrell, J., Mattern, K., O’Connor, R., Pulvermacher, R., Way, J., & Zhao, R. (2015). Beyond academics: A holistic framework for enhancing education and workplace success. American College Testing, Inc. https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured documents/ACT_RR2015-4.pdf Brading, T. (2020, January 6). New entrance test to increase soldier quality, reduce attrition. U.S. Army, Army News Service. https://www.army.mil/article/231249/new entrance_test_to_increase_soldier_quality_reduce attrition CASEL. (n.d.a). Core SEL competencies. Retrieved June 13, 2019, from https://casel.org/core-competencies/ CASEL. (n.d.b). What is SEL? Retrieved March 5, 2021, from https://casel.org/what-is-sel/ Conley, D. T. (2008). Rethinking college readiness. New Directions for Higher Education, 2008(144), 24–26. https:/ doi.org/10.1002/he.321 Drasgow Consulting Group. (2022). Assessments. https:/ drasgowassessments.com/Assessments.aspx Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Smith, D. (2019). All learning is social and emotional: Helping students develop essential skills for the classroom and beyond. Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. Greene, J. (2019). The moral and religious roots of social and emotional learning. American Enterprise Institute - AEI. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report the-moral-and-religious-roots-of-social-and-emotional learning/ Herrera, G. J. (2020). The fundamentals of military readiness. Congressional Research Service. Hubbard, B. (2018). Developing life skills in children: A road map for communicating with parents. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 19(3). https://doi org/10.33423/jhetp.v19i3.2115 NACE. (2021). Competencies for a career-ready workforce. https://www.naceweb.org/uploadedfiles/files/2021 resources/nace-career-readiness-competencies-revised apr-2021.pdf Stark, S., Chernyshenko, O., Drasgow, F., Nye, C., White, L., Heffner, T., & Farmer, W. (2014). From able to TAPAS: A new generation of personality tests to support military selection and classification decisions. Military Psychology, 26, 153–164. https://doi.org/10.1037 mil0000044 Tulgan, B. (2015). Bridging the soft skills gap: How to teach the missing basics to today’s young talent. Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint. Waters, E., & Sroufe, L. A. (1983). Social competence as a developmental construct. Developmental Review, 3, 79–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-2297(83)90010-2
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