One might argue that the learner’s emotional functioning is as much a part of academic development as any other factor, yet this dynamic has been largely left to the periphery in conventional pedagogical metrics. Our work is an empirical probe into the structural ties between such functioning and the indicators of academic progress. In a departure from older models fixated on cognitive testing in isolation, we have put forward a mixed-methods longitudinal study of some 3,100 students from all tiers of the international education system, stratified by demographics. For two years we have assiduously followed quantitative psychometric data and set it against five principal academic measures: cumulative GPA, critical thinking matrices, task persistence under cognitive friction, levels of engagement in the classroom and one’s affinity for peer collaboration.