Affective Assessment:

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Affective Assessment A 21st Century
Shortcoming?  
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ASSESSING STUDENTS AFFECT
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• We MEASURE
• what we
• TREASURE.

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The Predictive Nature of Students Current
Affective Status
Students Current Behavior Status
Students Subsequent Behavior
Predicts
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Potential Attitude Targets

• Positive attitudes toward learning
• Positive attitudes toward self
• Positive attitudes toward self as a learner
• Appropriate attitudes toward those who differ
  from us

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Potential Interest Targets

• Interest in specific subjects
• Interest in subject-related activities
• Interest in public affairs
• Interest in altruistic endeavors

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Potential Value Targets

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Justice
• Freedom

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ASSESSING AFFECTA THREE-PART STRATEGY

• Affective assessment instruments should be
  self-report inventories, completed by students
  under conditions of actual and perceived
  anonymity, from which group-focused inferences
  about students affective status can be
  accurately drawn.

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ANONYMITY-ENHANCEMENT TACTICS

• Emphasize anonymity in directions.
• Provide a rationale for the assessment.
• Restrict responses to untraceable marks.
• Install an anonymous collection-procedure.
• Do not hover.

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Two Measurement Tactics for Assessing Students
Affect via Anonymous, Self-Report Inventories

• A traditional, unidimensional Likert inventory
• A Likert-like, multidimensional inventory

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Constructing A Traditional Likert Inventory

• Select the affect variable to assess.
• Create a set of favorable and unfavorable
  statements.
• Ask others to classify these as positive or
  negative.
• Determine number and nature of response options.
• Construct a preliminary version including
  directions.
• Try out the preliminary version.
• Score the inventories.
• Delete aberrant statements.

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A DIFFERENCE IN DISCRIMINATION-ENGENDERING

• Day in and day out, school is always the most
  enjoyable part of my day.
• (Strongly Agree, Agree, Not Sure, Disagree,
  Strongly Agree)

• Although I sometimes find it disagreeable, most
  of the time, I enjoy school.
• (Strongly Agree, Agree, Not Sure, Disagree,
  Strongly Agree)

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CONSTRUCTING A MULTIFOCUS INVENTORY

• Choose the affective variables to measure.
• Decide on how many items per variable.
• Generate positive/negative statement for each
  variable.
• Determine number and phrasing of response
  options.
• Develop directions and a presentation format.

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An Affective Target of Considerable Assessment/Ins
truction Utility
Students' confidence in their ability to
perform important skills
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CONSTRUCTING ACONFIDENCE INVENTORY

• Select suitable skills or bodies of knowledge.
• Decide on how many items per skill or body of
  knowledge.
• Identify and describe tasks (or activities)
  requiring the use of those skills or bodies of
  knowledge.
• Determine number and nature of response options.
• Develop directions, sample item(s), and
  presentation formats.