Zoo U has received another strong review. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published a review of innovative tools for assessing social emotional skills. In the article, OECD praises Zoo U for its cutting-edge features, including:

• Assessing multiple skills in a single game
• Using direct and indirect choices to assess skills
• Creating an immersive, real-world experience

We created Zoo U with funding from the US Department of Education. Zoo U is an evidence-based game for social emotional skills assessment and intervention with elementary students. Distributed by Centervention, Zoo U helps tens of thousands of students in schools across the nation build social emotional skills.

The game-based direct assessment in Zoo U reviewed by OECD brings together the rigor of traditional assessments and the innovation of digital technology. In Zoo U, elementary-aged youth create an avatar to navigate six short scenes, giving youth the freedom to make their own choices as they navigate social problem-solving situations.

Each scene represents a key skill:

• Communication
• Cooperation
• Emotional regulation
• Empathy
• Impulse control
• Social Isolation