California's CORE districts have been collecting data since 2014 on social and emotional learning (SEL) and school climate and culture to improve K-12 schools' holistic approach to student development. Advocates argue that a focus on SEL and school culture will lead to higher academic achievement and better well-being for students. The CORE districts developed survey instruments for SEL competencies and school climate perceptions involving students, staff, and parents. Many states and districts have adopted SEL-specific curricula and disciplinary reforms.

The CORE Districts in California conducted a survey to measure K-12 students’ social-emotional well-being during the pandemic. Results indicate that students’ personal and interpersonal well-being rated lower than their learning environments. Interpersonal well-being was most correlated with academic achievement. Home/online learning environment improved, but Grades 5-12 students reported not liking school as much in winter 2020-21. Stakeholders should focus on meeting the pressing needs of each group of students.

The use of social-emotional learning (SEL) and school culture/climate (CC) measures is a promising way to understand school performance. SEL and CC measures are reliable, distinguish between schools, and relate to academic and non-academic measures. They can identify areas for improvement within schools, such as subgroup gaps. Incorporating these measures into higher stakes accountability systems requires further research.

This study explores ten "outlier schools" in California's CORE districts that have strong social-emotional learning outcomes. The brief and infographic summarize the various practices found in these schools and the common implementation challenges faced. The findings offer lessons that can help other schools and districts implement social-emotional learning at scale.

This study examines the impact of target setting for non-academic indicators on school quality ratings in CORE districts' elementary schools. The authors found that non-academic measures of school quality vary over time, are not consistently associated with demographics, and are sensitive to small changes in rating thresholds. The results suggest a need for more research on target setting for non-academic indicators in school quality systems.

This study examines the properties of California's CORE Districts' SEL survey, which measures social-emotional learning in students. The survey was given to over 400,000 students in grades 3-12. The study uses both classical test theory and item response theory frameworks to analyze the data and make recommendations for modeling and scaling SEL survey data. Policy implications are discussed for educators, administrators, policy makers, and other stakeholders.