The XQ Competencies define student success not by test scores or Carnegie units, but by the achievement of meaningful outcomes across academic content, cognitive skills, and social-emotional capacities. Pittman and Irby’s comparative analysis finds that the XQ Competencies provide a logical, coherent, and actionable framework for student learning. This developmental framework holds the potential to transform the way we design learning experiences, assess student progress, and certify students’ successful acquisition of essential skills and knowledge.
Section 1
We offer definitions of competency and examines how this construct relates to other common SEL terms. This section includes an analysis of how competency and the other SEL-related terms show up in the 40 frameworks on the Explore SEL site that were used for the comparative analysis by EASEL Lab.
Section 2
Provides an explication of the EASEL Lab Analysis Report. This section includes details on EASEL Lab’s methodology, findings (both composite analysis against the 40 frameworks and comparative analysis to three popular SEL frameworks), research-informed opinions, and conclusions.
Conclusion
With a high-level view of how and where the XQ Competency framework fits in the broader education reform/rethink/reimagine context occupied by K-12 innovators and adjacent youth development organizations.
The XQ Competencies are not merely a tool for pedagogical theory—they are a tool for action, for meeting real needs articulated by students, families, higher education, and employers. The goal is to shift the unit of change from the level of the system, school, or even classroom to the level of individual student learning, growth, and development, grounded in creatively and carefully designed learning experiences.
