It turns out that being voted “Most likely to succeed” in high school might actually be a good predictor of one’s financial and educational success in the future.
According to a University of Illinois professor who studies the sociology of education, high school sophomores who were rated by their teachers as having good social skills and work habits, and who participated in extracurricular activities in high school, made more money and completed higher levels of education 10 years later than their classmates who had similar standardized test scores but were less socially adroit(熟练的)and participated in fewer extracurricular activities.
Christy Lleras, a professor of human and community development, says that “soft skills” such as sociability, punctuality, conscientiousness(负责任) and an ability to get along well with others, along with participation in extracurricular activities, are better predictors of earnings and higher educational achievement later in life than having good grades and high standardized test scores.
“That’s not tosay that academic achiecement in high school doesn’t matter—it does,”Lleras said. “But if we only look at standardized test scores, we’re only considering part of the equation for success as an adult in a global marketplace. Academic achievement is part of the story, but it’s not the whole story. You’ve got to have the social skills and work habits to back those achievements up.”
With the generational shift from a manufacturing-hased economy to a service-and-information-based one, employers value workers who can not only boast about their GPAs and SAT scores, but are also able to get along well with the public and co-workers, Lleras.
“I think we’ve known this intuitively for a long time that employers are looking for something beyond cognitive (认知的)skills” Lleras said. “Leadership now is not an individual thing , it’s how well you get along in a team and get people organized.”
Which of the following is NOT considered as a “soft skill”?
A.Being able to make others at ease in a group.
B Being able to get to an appointment on time.
CAlways ticking to one’s own opinion.
D Being willing to take responsibility.
. Now employers would prfe to hire someone who ________？
A earned high scores in standardized test in high school
B can work independently
C has high cognitive skills
D can cooperat well with other teammates
.Christy Lleras would agree that a high school student should____.
A spend more time in extracurricular activities
B omit classes to take part in extracurricular activities
C pay more attention to standardized test scores
D keep a good balance between learning and relaxation