This project uses a unique combination of data from a large-scale, lieutenant governor–backed high school service program and rich administrative datasets from Utah. These data will be used to develop measures of self-management, relationship skills, and self-awareness through large-scale, AI-informed text analysis of student reflections. By integrating administrative records with the Panorama Student Survey, the Youth Civic and Character Measures Toolkit, and reflective writing generated through the statewide service initiative, the team will assess whether AI-based measures capture the same socioemotional competencies identified by validated survey instruments and determine which of these skills are most strongly correlated with postsecondary outcomes and civic engagement. Linking AI-derived SEL indicators to mobility-boosting college enrollment patterns and civic behaviors such as voter registration, the study offers an innovative test of whether scalable AI methods can reliably measure the skills most predictive of students’ educational and civic trajectories.

Data Sources 

• Data: Student reflections on volunteer experiences, survey data, statewide administrative data from Utah Early
• Mobility Outcomes: Enrollment in mobility-boosting postsecondary institutions through National Student Clearinghouse postsecondary records, and voter registration