How to Assess Durable Skills in Your Portrait of a Graduate
Your district adopted a portrait of a graduate. The community helped write it. It names the skills every student should carry across the stage, and it hangs in the board room. Then someone asks how you know students are getting there.
Most districts do not have a good answer yet. The portrait names skills. It does not come with a way to see them. This guide gives you a starting rubric and three rules for evidence that holds up.
What durable skills are
America Succeeds, a nonprofit that publishes a durable skills framework, describes durable skills as a combination of how you use what you know and character skills such as fortitude and growth mindset. It groups them into ten competencies. They are leadership, character, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, metacognition, mindfulness, growth mindset, and fortitude.
What a portrait of a graduate is
A portrait of a graduate is a district's own statement of the skills its students need. Battelle for Kids, which supports districts through the process, describes a portrait as developed with the community. Every portrait is local, so yours will not match the district next door. Many of them name some version of communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.
Why durable skills are hard to assess
The words in a portrait describe traits. Effective communicator. Critical thinker. Nobody can observe a trait directly, so two teachers looking at the same student will reach two different scores.
Two things have to happen before you can assess a durable skill. First, translate the trait into a behavior you can see or hear. Second, put students in a task that demands the behavior. A worksheet completed alone will never show you collaboration. A task where no single student holds all the information will.
A durable skills rubric built on observable behavior
This rubric covers four skills that appear in many portraits. Each row describes one skill as a behavior at three levels. It fits grades 5 to 12.
| Skill | Not yet seen | Emerging | Consistent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication | States information without saying who needs it. | Directs information to the right person some of the time. | Names the person, states the key fact first, and confirms it was heard. |
| Collaboration | Works alone inside the group. | Shares what they know when asked. | Offers what they know and asks teammates for what they need. |
| Critical thinking | Accepts the first answer offered. | Asks for evidence when prompted. | Asks for evidence before deciding and changes course when the evidence changes. |
| Leadership | Waits for someone else to set direction. | Sets direction and moves on without checking. | Sets direction, checks that the group understood, and invites the quiet voice. |
For a closer look at collaboration, use the teamwork rubric in our guide to assessing individuals in group work.
One caution. This is a classroom observation tool. Nobody has validated it as a measurement instrument, and that includes us. Treat it as a starting point for feedback, not a score for a transcript.
Three rules for evidence that holds up
- Observe behavior, not opinion. A student's rating of their own collaboration is a useful reflection. It is not evidence of collaboration.
- Observe more than once. One task shows a moment. Several begin to show a pattern.
- Keep growth claims directional. If a group communicated more clearly in spring than in fall, say so and say how you know. Do not turn two observations into a percentage.
Where a mission day fits
A rubric depends on an observer, and an observer can watch one group at a time. On a school mission day, a starship bridge comes to your campus and crews of five to six students fly a live mission. Every station holds information the others need, so the task demands the skills your portrait names. The Mission Analysis System transcribes the crew's voice traffic, labels each line by station, and pairs it with what was happening in the mission at that moment.
The reports are formative. They describe crews and roles, and they never grade an individual child. Treat them as one data point beside your own observations. If your district is in Texas, our guide to TEKS aligned leadership evidence covers standards and funding.
Mobile Space Adventures is not affiliated with or endorsed by America Succeeds or Battelle for Kids. Descriptions of their work come from their public pages as of September 2026.