Adding It Up: The Impact of Supportive SEL Policies and Conditions on Math Proficiency

Key Points

• In the third blog in our academic integration series we show how supportive policies for SEL are associated with higher math proficiency in 8th grade.
• These data are consistent with previous research connecting supportive policies and conditions for SEL and school and classroom practices.
• Connecting policies to implementation and outcomes is essential for deepening understanding of the levers of change in education.

In the first two blogs in this series, we focused on school and classroom practices. Specifically, we looked at how weaving social and emotional learning (SEL) into academic instruction—and ensuring teachers have the support to implement it effectively—relate to student reading success. In this third blog, we dive into another content area that receives a lot of attention: math.  Our findings also got us wondering: What happens when SEL integration shows up not just in classrooms, but in the state-level policies that shape instruction?

The Data We’re Using

In this third blog, we draw on two state-level data sources:

• A nationwide scan (also known as the National Implementation Study) of each state and the District of Columbia’s SEL-relevant policies and conditions. Our analysis compared the 14 states that have integrated SEL into math and/or English Language Arts standards, developed SEL-academic crosswalks, or both, with the 37 states that have not. 
• 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, also known as the Nation’s Report Card. Specifically, we looked at states’ percent of students scoring at or above proficiency in math at grade 8.

Importantly, the relationship between policy and student outcomes can be difficult to measure. State policies are multiple steps removed from student academic achievement, and there are many factors between a policy being adopted and its potential effects showing up in state student assessment results years later. However, these questions are incredibly important to ask if we want to make sure policies connect to student experiences. 

What We Found

Our analysis found that the states that integrate SEL into academics tended to have higher rates of eighth grade math proficiency. 

This pattern aligns with other findings from the National Implementation Study where we saw relationships between policies and implementation. Specifically, we found that supportive policies and conditions for SEL—such as the adoption of stand-alone K-12 SEL standards, the inclusion of SEL in state strategic plans or Portraits of a Graduate, and the integration of SEL into academic content standards (as reported by principals)—had a statistically significant relationship with all of the following : 

✅ Schoolwide SEL implementation 

✅ Regular check-ins for students with adults

✅ Use of commercial SEL curriculum 

✅ Dedicated professional learning to examine and work on adults’ development of their own SEL competence

✅ School community support for SEL

✅ Teachers having enough time to deliver SEL instruction

✅ Teachers having enough professional learning to support students’ SEL

✅ Dedicated funding to support SEL

Together, these patterns show how state-level SEL policies and conditions are connected to SEL practices in school, as well as academic outcomes. 

This finding may be a signal that the policy process is working. States adopt standards, guidance, and other policies that shape what districts prioritize and, in turn, what educators implement in practice. Those policies can help create the conditions for stronger SEL implementation in classrooms, which decades of research, including a recent meta-analysis, suggest is linked to academic success. 

What’s Next in This Series

In the final blog in this series, we will step back and reflect on the broader importance of public data for student outcomes, school practices, and educational conditions—and what becomes possible when those data can be connected in meaningful ways.

Together, these explorations help paint a fuller picture of how school implementation and state-level policies may work together to shape students’ academic and social experiences.

This work is made possible through the generous support of the Stone Foundation.

Want to strengthen support for educators? Check Out CASEL’s professional development offerings, including:

CASEL Workshops: Sessions focus on important topics that offer new growth in your SEL journey. Visit the the CASEL Workshop page to learn about upcoming offerings, including:

• The 3 Signature Practices for SEL  (one virtual, facilitated, 2-hour session. Check the upcoming schedule!)
• Integrating SEL With Academic Instruction (one virtual, facilitated, 2-hour session; Check the upcoming schedule!)
• Cultivating SEL for Adults (self-paced learning series, on-demand)

Related Posts

• Want to Improve Students’ Reading? Make it Easier for Teachers to Integrate SEL
• New Data: Academic Performance and Social & Emotional Learning
• Math + Social and Emotional Learning = Student Success

Write for Us

Are you interested in writing for CASEL’s blog, Constellations? Learn more about what we’re looking for and how to pitch your idea!