研究表明，从中学到中学成功过渡是学生留在追逐毕业的关键。研究还表明，成功的过渡是一种不仅是学生如何准备学业的函数，而且是他们是否拥有社会情感学习（SEL）技能在更独立的中学环境中取得成功。Yet, little is known about whether students’ SEL skills are stable over time, and if they are not, whether a student’s initial level of SEL skills at the start of intermediate school or change in SEL skills over time is a better indicator of whether the student will be off track academically in 9th grade. This study begins to investigate this issue. We use four years of longitudinal SEL data from students in a large urban district with a sample size of about 3,000 students per timepoint. We use several years of longitudinal SEL data to fit growth models for three constructs shown to be related to successfully transitioning to secondary school. In so doing, we examine whether a student’s mean SEL score in 6th grade (status) or growth between 6th and 8th grade is more predictive of being off track academically in 9th grade. Results indicate that, while status is more frequently significant, growth for self-management is also predictive above and beyond status on that construct. Findings suggest that understanding how a student develops social-emotionally can improve identification of students not on track to succeed in high school.