Social–emotional competencies make the grade: Predicting academic success in early adolescence

•Teacher-reported social–emotional skills significantly predicted students' math scores.•Self-reported social and emotional competence significantly predicted reading in boys only.•Teacher-reported social–emotional skills significantly predicted reading in boys and girls.

The goals of this study were to longitudinally examine the association between social and emotional competence (SEC) and academic achievement in early adolescence, exploring the moderating role of gender in this relation. Using a short-term longitudinal design, self- and teacher-reported indicators of SEC were used to predict early adolescents' (N = 461, Mean age = 12.02 years, SD = 0.41, 47% female) achievement in math and reading on a standardized achievement test in grade 7. As hypothesized, teacher-reported SEC in sixth grade significantly predicted higher scores in math and reading on the standardized test in seventh grade. A significant interaction between self-reported SEC and gender in predicting reading scores indicated that SEC was a significant positive predictor for reading outcomes in boys only. Self-reported SEC was not significantly related to math achievement. Results are discussed in line with the literature and practical implications of the findings are discussed.