Based in Research
Career Success Program is based on decades of cumulative research by David T. Conley, PhD, Paul G. Stoltz, PhD, and our global research team. All aspects of Career Success Program, MyLab™ Student Success, Acclaim digital credentials, Conley Readiness Index, and GRIT™ Gauge instruments have been developed through market research and development.
Personal & Social Capabilities
In an effort to bridge the gap between school and work, our global research team extensively reviewed and normalized existing “soft” skills systems and tools, including those from P21, NACE, the AAC&U, and others from around the world.
Based on this research, we developed a single framework that identified the most commonly referenced personal and social capabilities (PSC) identified with college and career success. We defined each capability and developed rubrics to help measure and level learners according to their demonstrated proficiency. Then we built a curriculum that helps to develop these skills in learners, based on research and sound instructional design.
Conley Readiness Index
Conley Readiness Index (CRI) is the only readiness inventory based on over a decade of research analyzing the content of entry-level college courses and the opinions of thousands of U.S. secondary and postsecondary learners and educators about what it takes to succeed in college. Dr. Conley’s CRI CRI research methods included comprehensive surveys, interviews, focus groups, longitudinal studies, statistical analyses, meta-analyses, comparisons of GPAs with SAT scores and college acceptance rates, and exhaustive literature reviews from a range of social science disciplines.
From this base of data, the Conley Model describes 14 actionable “aspects” (also known as objectives/outcomes/skills) upon which educators and learners can focus to improve readiness and prepare for college and career success. These “aspects” are organized into the “Four Keys to College and Career Readiness” (Think, Know, Act, Go) that have been used by national organizations such as The College Board and the International Baccalaureate®, and by numerous states and school districts. CRI offers Pre- and Post-Assessment.
David T. Conley, PhD
Professor, Director, Center for Educational Policy Research, University of Oregon; President, EdImagine Strategy Group; Senior Fellow for Deeper Learning under the sponsorship of the Hewlett Foundation
David T. Conley, PhD, is a professor of educational policy and leadership and founder and director of the Center for Educational Policy Research (CEPR) at the University of Oregon, where he received both the Innovation in Research Award and the Faculty Excellence Award.
Through the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) and CCR Consulting Group, both in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, Dr. Conley conducts research on a range of topics related to college readiness and other key policy issues in collaboration with range of national organizations, states, school districts and school networks. His line of inquiry focuses on what it takes for students to succeed in postsecondary education.
His latest publication is Getting Ready for College, Careers and the Common Core, and his previous books on these topics include College and Career Ready: Helping All Students Succeed Beyond High School and College Knowledge: What It Really Takes for Students to Succeed and What We Can Do to Get Them Ready. He earned his BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and MA/PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
GRIT
Dr. Stoltz began his GRIT-related research 35 years ago and later expanded his efforts with the formation of PEAK Learning, Inc. More than a million individuals from 63 countries have participated in PEAK's GRIT-related assessments and research. Stoltz’s GRIT Gauge™ instrument uses a self-reported scale to assess five quantitative factors — Growth (mindset), Resilience, Instinct, Tenacity, and Robustness — and three qualitative factors — Smart GRIT (aka Effective GRIT), Good GRIT, and Robust GRIT.
The GRIT Gauge predicts goal completion, change in socio-economic status, degree of employment, level of employment, income, health, and quality of life. Reports provide scores on overall GRIT, individual scores for each factor, and specific strategies, exercises, and behavioral techniques for helping individuals focus on growing the quantity and improving the quality of their GRIT.
Paul G. Stoltz, PhD
Founder and CEO, PEAK Learning, Inc.
Paul G. Stoltz, PhD, is a New York Times #1 bestselling author, and considered the world’s foremost authority on the science and method of measuring and strengthening GRIT™, also known as “GRIT 2.0.” His methods and teachings are used at Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and by top organizations in 63 countries. Paul was selected as One of the Top Ten Most Influential Global Thinkers by HR Magazine, One of the Top 100 Thinkers of Our Time by Executive Excellence, and Millennial Thought Leader in Singapore. He’s the originator of the globally acclaimed AQ® (Adversity Quotient®) theory and method adopted worldwide. Dr. Stoltz has been featured in much of the world’s top media, including Fortune, Forbes, Success, Businessweek, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Asia 21, Fox, ABC Nightly News, NBC, CBS, The Today Show, and multiple appearances on The Oprah Show.
Dr. Stoltz is the founding director of the GRIT Institute and the Global Resilience Institute, conducting research in 29 countries, as well as Founder and CEO of PEAK Learning, Inc., the global research and consulting firm he formed in 1987. Applying his vast experience and research in higher education specifically to students in their first year of college is a long-term goal of his. Developing effective strategies toward college completion — and sustainable employment — has never been timelier.
On Track: Redefining Readiness in Education and the Workplace
Learn more about college and career readiness and how to ensure that our students achieve results and make progress toward those goals.