Using Affective Assessment

to Understand our Students’

Identities as Readers
(and Non-Readers)
By Susannah M. Givens

Consider your responses to the following questions before reading further:

• In general, how do you feel about reading?
• What do you do well as a reader?
My guess is that, for many of you, the responses to the previous two
questions indicate at least a mildly positive attitude toward reading. Even
if reading is not one of your favorite pastimes, I suspect that you realize the
value of it. I also imagine that you are able to identify some strengths when
it comes to your reading practices.
Now contrast your responses with those of my students. For the first
question, I typically receive few enthusiastic responses, many unaffected
responses, and several negative responses (e.g. “I hate it.”). For the second
question about what they do well as a reader, I am always disheartened by
the eight to ten responses per semester of “I don’t know” or “Nothing.”
The two questions I posed to you are taken from a Reading Attitudes
Survey that I developed when I began teaching developmental reading
five years ago. I administer this survey to my developmental reading
students during the first week of the semester. In addition to the placement
assessments that indicate students’ readiness for the courses and other
cognitive assessments and writing samples I administer during the first
week, I also believe it is crucial to understand the attitudes and motivations
of my students.
The students’ responses
“These types of assessment will to the questions posed in the
not determine the grades we survey are quite informative;
give students’ work, but they however, as a teacher of
reading and as someone who
can determine the instructional
loves to read, the negative
moves we make to help comments always crush me.
students develop dispositions Soon after I began using the
that lead to academic success.” Reading Attitudes Survey,
I began to wonder what

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges |5

 types of educational experiences had led some students to develop such
strong feelings of dislike for reading and low self-efficacy; they have to
have been very negative and frustrating. In fact, as I inquired about this
further in both my own practice and in research I was completing for my
dissertation (Givens, 2008), my speculations were confirmed. I increasingly
recognize how critical it is that I take the time to understand the affective
characteristics of my students in order to best meet their needs through my
instruction.

Rationale for Affective Assessment

As Saxon, Levine-Brown, and Boylan (2008) have concluded in their
research, the affective domain of assessment is often overlooked in
developmental education. Gerlaugh, Thompson, Boylan, and Davis
(2007) report that only seven percent of community colleges engage in
affective assessment. Affective assessment focuses on characteristics such
as an individual’s motivation, attitude toward learning, and feelings of
self-efficacy. It is clear from the research that many students enrolled in
developmental studies courses may struggle with motivation and confidence
levels (CCSSE, n.d.; Grubb, 1999; Roeuche & Roeuche, 1993). Some
students become even more discouraged because they have been placed in
a developmental studies course that they view as a waste of time or believe
offers them nothing in terms of credits toward a degree or transfer to a four-
year institution.
Unfortunately, the majority of assessment occurring at colleges and
universities in the United States is cognitive, to the exclusion of the affective
domain. As Saxon et al. (2008) state, “Although the information from
such [cognitive] instruments is generally valid, reliable, and effective for
placement, it does not address all the factors that might contribute to student
success” (p. 1). Saxon et al. also cite Benjamin Bloom’s claim that “25
percent of student performance is determined by affective characteristics”
(p. 1). Regardless of how much a student knows or is able to accomplish as
determined or predicted by a cognitive measure, that student will be able to
achieve nothing without the necessary motivation, confidence, and attitude
toward learning.
Given the focus on increasing student persistence at many
community colleges through programs such as Achieving the Dream, it
seems more than appropriate that faculty and institutions integrate more
affective measures into their assessments of student readiness. These
types of assessment will not determine the grades we give students’ work,
but they can determine the instructional moves we make to help students

6| Inquiry
develop dispositions that lead to academic success. A focus on affective
assessment is important in order to respond to those students with low levels
of motivation and confidence and with negative attitudes toward schooling
in general.
Affective assessment is particularly important for the area of
developmental reading for three reasons. First, success rates (as defined by
persistence) are low for students who take developmental reading courses;
for example, as Adelman (1996) reports, a student’s chance of completing a
degree is considerably lower if he or she is required to take a developmental
reading course. Students in developmental studies courses are those most
in need of affective assessment so that faculty can determine more effective
approaches to instruction. Second, reading is the foundation for accessing
most any college course. If a student believes he or she is a poor reader,
how will that student approach any course with the belief that success is a
real possibility? Finally, an examination of the Virginia Community College
System course description for “Preparation for College Reading II” (ENG
05), the level two developmental reading course, mandates that we focus
on affect. The description indicates that ENG 05 will “Help students . . .
increase appreciation of reading.” How can professors assist students in
increasing “appreciation” – much less measure “appreciation” – if they do
not understand the dispositions of their students? Affective measures would
help in realizing the course purpose. Despite the many reasons to engage
in affective assessment and the fact that research shows that “motivational
processes are the foundation for coordinating cognitive goals and strategies
in reading” (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000, p. 408), such measures continue to
be sparse.
Numerous affective instruments are commercially available, but
some institutions and faculty may express concern over the cost of some
of them. However, there is an alternative to purchasing commercially
available assessments: it is quite feasible for instructors to create their
own instruments that are targeted toward the affective domain. In fact, I
have created several assignments in my reading courses that I use to better
understand the affective stances and needs of my students, as well as a
general assessment that I have shared with faculty across all disciplines at
my campus.

Reading Attitudes Survey

During the first week of classes, I often administer a Reading Attitudes
Survey – the one referenced at the beginning of this article – in my
“Preparation for College Reading Improvement I” and “II” (ENG 04 and

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges |7

 05) developmental reading courses (see Appendix A for survey). I always
explain to my students that I designed this survey to learn more about who
they are as readers and that the surveys tell me much more about them as
individuals than a single standardized measure or writing sample. In an age
in which standardized assessments are the norm, the students often seem
refreshed to find that their identities, strengths, and needs are not reduced
solely to numbers. I assign this survey for homework, and in almost all
cases, the completion rate has been 100 percent, a rarity for developmental
studies courses. I must note that this assignment is assessed based on
completion. Students are encouraged to be honest, and I emphasize that
they will not lose points based on any negative responses.
Students’ responses to the survey questions provide an initial
snapshot of students’ attitudes toward reading, their experiences with
reading, their self-assessments of their strengths and needs, and their goals
as readers. The students’ responses are a helpful starting point in how I
approach students individually. From the outset of the course, I am aware of
which students already are quite confident and goal-oriented and which will
need to be steered in that direction with more individualized attention.

Reading Process Reflections

More recently, I developed three Reading Process Reflections, which the
students complete at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the semester (see
Appendix B). I have used these assessments in my developmental reading
courses (ENG 04 and ENG 05), as well as in “Critical Reading and Study
Skills” (ENG 108). These three reflective papers allow students to examine
their own attitudes toward reading and their identities as readers, to set goals
for themselves as readers, and to examine and monitor the changes that
occur over the course of the semester. These reflections are evaluated not on
positive or negative responses but on whether or not the students completely
and thoroughly address the questions posed and the extent to which they
demonstrate the ability to think critically about their reading processes and
development as readers.
Following are excerpts taken from one student’s reading process
reflections over the course of the semester. These excerpts demonstrate
the types of affective changes that can occur during a semester. In the first
reflection, this student wrote the following:
I don’t like to read. I haven’t read a book since I was in high school.
I kind of dread having to read something; I think reading is boring.
I guess I feel this way because I never was a reader. As a young
person I never read in my spare time, so I guess I never developed a

8| Inquiry
 love for reading. I think maybe part of the reason I felt this way is
because I don’t feel like I’m a good or fast enough reader, probably
because I haven’t done much of it, so I didn’t have the opportunity
to improve my skills.
An excerpt from her second reflection demonstrates a mild improvement
in her attitude toward reading, as well as her engagement with the book
A Hope in the Unseen, which we read during the course. This is quite a
difference from the person who hadn’t “read a book since . . . high school.”
This excerpt also shows how she is questioning and evaluating the reasons
for her engagement with the text:
I think my attitude towards reading has changed quite a bit this
semester. I do not dread it like I used to. Instead I enjoy it and find
it more interesting. Now I view it like an opportunity to learn new
things and improve my vocabulary. I am not saying I have become
an avid reader, but I do view it in a more positive way. I do not
know if it is because I never read books in the past so I do not have
anything to compare it to, or if this is just a good book, but I have
really enjoyed reading A Hope in the Unseen.
Finally, her third reflection shows definite changes since the beginning of the
semester:
I used to feel overwhelmed by my textbook reading assignments and
never read for my own pleasure. . . . My attitude toward reading has
definitely changed for the better this semester. I am not saying I will
become an avid reader, but I do plan to read more often for my own
enjoyment. It is kind of funny . . . when I go to a bookstore I like to
look at factual books, rather than fiction. There is so much you can
learn by reading, but I would like to pick out a nice story to read. I
saw one book about a dog that American soldiers befriended in Iraq;
I think I would like that one.
These responses indicate the changes that can take place when students’
affective characteristics are evaluated and monitored by not only the
professor but also the students’ themselves.

Literacy Narrative
To provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their literacy and
language experiences, I developed a literacy narrative assignment for my
developmental writing students, although it could certainly be woven
into a reading course, as well. Following is a general description of the
assignment:
A literacy narrative is an essay in which you share a story about

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges |9

 your personal engagement with reading, writing, thinking, and/
or language. For this assignment you will write a narrative
essay based on some past experience – either from long ago or in
the recent past – related to literacy. This could be a positive or
negative experience, and it could be an academic or non-academic
experience. Regardless, you should connect the experience to your
current feelings about reading, writing, thinking, and/or language.
Your purpose for this essay is to communicate to your readers
the way(s) in which you have been shaped as a reader/writer/
thinker/language user in your narrative. In doing so, you will use
description, narration, and reflection.
I created this assignment based on a presentation that I attended in
September 2008 at the Fourth International Conference on Research and
Access in Developmental Education (Marrott & McMurtrey, 2008). In
addition to meeting the requirement that the students write a narrative
essay, this assignment also facilitates students’ understanding that there
are multiple, valid literacies that we practice throughout our lives across
different situations, and that academic reading and writing is just one
of these multiple literacies (Street, 2005). Until students realize this, it
becomes difficult to make the jump from writing like they speak to writing
using academic language, structure, and syntax.
The literacy narrative assignment always follows a discussion
of multiple literacies. For example, I might initiate the discussion by
asking them to identify how the ways in which they talk to their friends,
to customers at their jobs, to their parents, and to the other players on their
sports team differ and how they use language in those situations for different
purposes. We would then proceed to compare and contrast those context-
specific ways of using language to the academic texts we read and write in
school. Academic writing is yet one more way of communicating and using
language to accomplish a purpose; students must be able to understand the
academic texts they read, as well.
The students’ literacy narratives have covered a range of literacy
experiences, many of them positive ones. Topics have included discovery
of the treasure of books and information in a library for the first time, the
understanding of the power of speaking, and the experiences of learning a
new language and culture upon immigrating to America. These narratives
not only inform me about my students’ language and literacy experiences
but also force the students to reflect on how language and literacy are at
work in their lives.
As with the previous assignments, their positive and negative

10 | Inquiry
responses are not evaluated for this essay. Rather, I evaluate these
essays based on the same elements as any other essay: focus, structure,
organization, detail and description, grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Expanding Affective Assessment across the Curriculum

Two experiences led me to begin to share the importance of affective
assessment with faculty across the disciplines on my campus. First, I
realized many instructional benefits from the types of assessments presented
in the previous section, and I thought they would be valuable to others – not
only to English faculty but to faculty across all disciplines. In addition, a
history professor on my campus had secured a professional development
grant focused on reading across the curriculum during the 2007-2008
academic year.1 Her grant was focused on examining why so many students
tend not to read their textbooks and implementing instructional strategies
and other projects to help students make better use of assigned textbook
reading. It occurred to me that affective assessment intersected with my
colleague’s reading-across-the-curriculum project: students’ affective needs
– not only their repertoire of strategies for accessing textbooks – were an
important consideration in whether or not they were reading the course
texts and with what level of success. Therefore, I applied for a stipend and
adapted my Reading Attitudes Survey so that faculty across all disciplines
could use it in their courses. This Survey of Reading Attitudes and Practices
is included in Appendix C.
To make this survey available to the faculty, I sent an email to all
faculty members on my campus in January 2009, asking them to contact
me if they were interested in using the survey. Thirteen faculty from
various disciplines requested the survey. I emailed them the survey (see
Appendix C), along with instructions and suggestions for using the survey
(see Appendix D). Midway through the semester, I followed up with them
to request feedback on how they had used the survey and what they had
learned. Many of them chose not to use it, but among the five who did, I
received feedback in response to several follow-up questions. Following are
key results from their feedback:
• There was a common theme that many students find reading in general
to be rewarding but textbook reading to be boring. This “boring”
nature of textbooks emphasizes the need for attention to affective
characteristics.
• Most instructors assign textbook readings once or twice weekly.
Textbooks tend to range between 400 and 500 pages in length. When
one considers the small type and lack of visual features of many texts, it

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges | 11

 is easy to understand how college textbooks could prove daunting to a
student with little confidence or motivation to read.
• In an effort to motivate students to complete course readings, some
instructors use additional readings – news articles or online articles
– or require students to locate readings relevant to course topics and
summarize or present them to the class for discussion purposes.
• The instructors also reported that they were making or plan to make the
following changes, each of which addresses affect. One instructor plans
to assign more supplementary readings in addition to the text to increase
interest. Another instructor used the discussion board in his hybrid
course to discuss readings, and he plans to use it more often in future
semesters as a place for students to ask questions about parts of the
readings that they do not understand. He noted that when the readings
are tied to other assessments and learning activities (e.g. discussions and
papers), the readings prove to be most valuable. One history instructor
is going to require the use of evidence from the text in future papers.
She also is encouraging students to meet with her to review examples
of their note-taking and the ways in which they annotate the text, and
she awards points for demonstrating the use of these types of learning
strategies. She has also tied weekly in-class writing prompts more
closely with the text. All of these changes support increasing interest
and confidence in reading among students with low levels of motivation
and self-efficacy.
I plan to send this survey to instructors again in subsequent semesters with
the goal of increasing faculty participation.

Benefits to Faculty and Students

For developmental reading faculty, the benefits for using affective
assessments are obvious. With information about the students’ affective
characteristics based on more than anecdotes and isolated observations, they
will be able to individualize their approaches to students. Based on what I
learn each time I use these assessments, I have a strong sense within the first
two weeks of the courses of which students are motivated and will need little
affective support and which students will need more encouragement, gentle
prodding, and individual attention throughout the semester. It is critical that
we identify these students early if we are to have any positive effect on them
during the short time they are in our courses. In addition, at the end of the
semester, I can see definite changes in students’ affective characteristics as
measured by post assessments and reflections.
Many faculty outside of the English discipline might argue that

12 | Inquiry
reading does not fall within the realm of what they teach. Certainly, it is
true that they have plenty of content to cover in a short amount of time.
However, as I have argued, literacy and language provide the foundation for
accessing any college course, and administering a brief assessment requires
only a miniscule amount of time, especially in comparison to the knowledge
it generates. Professors need to be aware of the supports that their students
may need that are not directly related to their understanding of concepts but
rather to their ability to access the course texts. Using a general survey such
as the one I developed will enable them to provide support for these students
or to direct them to services such as tutors and reading and writing centers
located on their campuses.
For students, the benefits of affective assessment are also numerous.
Merely considering the questions posed by affective assessments forces
them to think about the roles that reading and, more generally, literacy
and language play in their lives. For many students, this can lead to an
expanded understanding of language and literacy within the many realms
of their lives – not just in terms of academics. Students also may develop
metacognitive skills and awareness through the act of intentionally reflecting
on and evaluating their own learning. The ultimate benefit is that professors’
knowledge of their students’ affective characteristics leads to more targeted
instruction and successful learning experiences for students. Because
students are able to focus on affective development in concert with cognitive
development, they are more likely to be successful.

Dr. Susannah M. Givens is an associate professor of developmental English

at Northern Virginia Community College’s Manassas Campus, where she
also serves as program head for Developmental English.

1
I would like to acknowledge and thank Linda Simmons, professor of
history at Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas Campus, for her
leadership on the reading-across-the- curriculum project and for providing a
stipend from her grant to develop and administer my survey.

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges | 13

 References
Adelman, C. (1996, October 4). The truth about remedial work: It’s more complex
than windy rhetoric and simple solutions suggest [Electronic version]. The
Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A56.
Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). (n.d.). Engagement
by design: 2004 findings. Retrieved on September 11, 2007, from http://
www.ccsse.org/publications/ccsse_reportfinal2004.pdf.
Gerlaugh, K., Thompson, L., Boylan, H., & Davis, H. National study of
developmental education II: Baseline data for community colleges.
Research in Developmental Education 20(4), 1-4.
Givens, Susannah M. (2008). A cross-case study of three exemplary Developmental
English instructors. Ed.D. dissertation, The George Washington University,
United States -- District of Columbia. Retrieved May 14, 2009, from
Dissertations & Theses @ George Washington University - WRLC
database. (Publication No. AAT 3297012).
Grubb, W. N. (1999). Honored but invisible: An inside look at teaching in
community colleges. New York: Routledge.
Guthrie, J. T., & Wigfield, A. (2000). Engagement and motivation in reading. In
M. L. Kamil, P. B. Rosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook
of reading research: Vol. III (pp. 403-422). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Marrott, D., & McMurtrey, A. (2008, September). Keys to the community: Issues of
access and identify for basic writers and ESL students. Paper presented at
the 4th International Conference on Research in Access and Developmental
Education, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Roueche, J. E., & Roueche, S. D. (1993). Between a rock and a hard place: The
at-risk student in the open-door community college. Washington, DC:
Community College Press.
Saxon, D. P., Levine-Brown, P., & Boylan, H. R. (2008). Affective assessment for
developmental students, part 1. Research in Developmental Education,
22(1), 1-4.
Street, B. V. (2005). Recent applications of new literacy studies in educational
contexts. Research in the Teaching of English, 39(4), 417-423. Retrieved
May 15, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document
ID: 842886001).

14 | Inquiry
Appendix A: Reading Attitudes Survey

1. In general, how do you feel about reading?

2. In your opinion and experience, what are the characteristics of a “good”
reader?
3. What do you do when you are reading and come to a word that you
don’t know?
4. If you don’t understand what you read, what do you do?
5. What do you do to help you remember what you read?
6. When and how did you learn to read?
7. Complete the following: I enjoy reading about ……
8. What kinds of texts (magazines, internet articles, books, etc.) do you
read…
a. at home?
b. at school?
c. at work?
9. Do you have a favorite writer, author, or book? yes no
If yes, name the writer/author or book?
10. What do you find challenging or difficult about reading?
11. What do you do well as a reader?
12. Think about what you would like to learn from this course to help you
become a better reader. List one or two goals that you would like to set
for yourself to accomplish in this course. (Note: Do not write that your
goal is to pass the course; be specific about what you want to focus on
in relation to reading.)

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges | 15

 Appendix B: Reading Process Reflections

Reflection 1
Write a 1-to-2-page reflection that incorporates responses to the following
questions:
1. How do you feel about reading in general? What is your attitude toward
reading? What do you believe about reading?
2. Why do you feel the way you do about reading? What experiences led
you to develop your attitude toward and feelings about reading?
3. How would you describe yourself as a reader? What kind of reader are
you? What are your strengths and challenges with regards to reading?
4. Based on your responses to the first three questions, what goal(s) do you
have for yourself in this course? (Stating that your goal is to pass the
course is a “cop-out” – be specific.)
Reflection 2
Read over the first Reading Process Reflection, which you prepared at the
beginning of the semester. Reflect on any changes to your reading process
that have occurred this semester and write a 1-to-2-page reflection that
incorporates responses to the following questions:
1. What changes have you made so far this semester to your reading
process? How have your strategies changed?
2. Has your attitude toward reading changed at all this semester? Explain.
3. How would you describe your experience of reading [insert name of
novel or other supplementary text]? Has it been a positive or negative
reading experience for you? Explain.
4. Re-examine the goals that you identified in your first Reading Process
Reflection. How are you progressing toward your goal(s)? Do you have
any new goals that you would like to add? If so, state them.

Reflection 3
Review the work you have completed this semester. Reflect on any changes
to your reading process that have occurred this semester. Write a 1-to-2-
page reflection that incorporates responses to the following questions:
1. What changes have you made this semester to your reading process?
How have your strategies changed? What do your assignments
demonstrate that you have learned about reading?
2. Has your attitude toward reading changed at all this semester? Explain.
3. What have you accomplished this semester in relation to reading?
4. Identify at least one reading-related goal that you would like to focus on
after this course.

16 | Inquiry
Appendix C: Survey of Reading Attitudes and Practices

Please respond honestly to the following questions about your reading

attitudes, experiences, and strategies. There are no wrong answers.
1. In general, how do you feel about reading?
2. What do you find challenging or difficult about reading?
3. What are your strengths as a reader?
4. What do you find rewarding about reading?
5. When you don’t understand what you read, what do you do?
6. What percentage of assigned readings do you typically complete in your
college courses?
A. None of the readings
B. 25 percent or less of the readings
C. More than 25 percent, but less than half of the readings
D. More than half, but less than 75 percent of the readings
E. More than 75 percent, but not quite all of the readings
F. All of the readings
7. When completing assigned readings for previous college courses, what
did you do to help you understand and remember what you read? (If this
is your first college course, then consider reading assignments from high
school or other settings when answering this question.)
8. In previous college courses, what motivated you to complete the
assigned readings? (If this is your first college course, then consider
reading assignments from high school or other settings when answering
this question.)
9. Preview the text(s) for this course and consider the reading assignments
that are required. What do you find challenging about the readings
assigned for this course?
10. What strategies, if any, do you plan to use to help you with the reading
assignments for this course?
11. What learning activities and resources, if any, would help you to use the
assigned texts for this course more efficiently?
12. What would motivate you to complete the assigned readings for this
course?

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges | 17

 Appendix D: Instructions for Using the Survey of Reading Attitudes
and Practices

Administer the Survey

1. Ask your students to complete this survey during the first two weeks
of the course. Make sure that you have provided students with an
overview of the types of reading assignments they will be required to
complete during the course and that you have introduced the course
texts to them prior to administering the survey.
2. Be sure that you give the students adequate time to complete the survey.
If you are concerned about taking up too much class time, I recommend
giving the survey as a homework assignment so that students can take as
much time as necessary to thoughtfully and thoroughly respond to each
question.
3. Make sure that students are aware that there are no right or wrong
answers in response to the survey questions and that the reason you are
administering the survey is to learn more about their reading attitudes,
practices, and experiences so that you can help them make the most of
the reading assignments in your course.

Analyze and Use the Results

1. Qualitatively analyze the students’ responses. Here are some
suggestions:
• Look for patterns. For example, do several students have similar
responses to the same question or demonstrate similar needs?
• Are there individual students who demonstrate particularly positive
attitudes toward reading or particularly effective strategies that
would be helpful in making the most of your assigned readings?
• Are there students about whom you have serious concerns regarding
their ability and/or motivation to complete and make effective use of
the reading assignments for the course?
2. Use what you have learned from your analysis. Here are some
suggestions:
• Identify reading strategies that you could model or demonstrate
to the class. Please feel free to email me if you would like some
suggestions.
• Identify students already practicing effective strategies and ask them
to share them with the class.
• Consider any modifications you might want to make to your reading

18 | Inquiry
 assignments, such as providing focus questions to accompany a
reading assignment or previewing the reading with the class.
• Identify any changes that you could make to your assessment
practices based on what you learned from your results. How are
you going to assess students’ completion and understanding of the
course readings?
• Direct students whom you think need significant additional support
with their reading assignments to The Reading/Writing Center.

The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges | 19