Adolescence can be a very challenging time for students. Students are not all equipped with the social-emotional skills to successfully navigate middle school into young adulthood. Students display adverse behaviors, such as peer physical aggression, peer verbal aggression, and defiance to adults. Students are not demonstrating problem-solving skills or empathy on a regular basis. The Illinois State Board of Education has mandated that schools implement a social-emotional learning curriculum to address the needs of students. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively measure the impact of a social-emotional learning curriculum on adverse behaviors and social competence of seventh-grade students in a north-central Illinois school district. The study collected data from office referrals from August 16, 2018 to March 13, 2019 and August 16, 2019 to March 13, 2020, as well as data from a student Second Step pre-assessment, student Second Step post-assessment, and student Panorama student social-emotional learning surveys. Data were collected through office referrals, pre-testing, post-testing, student surveys, and teacher surveys during the 2019-2020 school year. This researcher gained permission through the school's superintendent, Board of Education, and participants to collect data and information pertinent to this study. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]