Compendium 17.

Elementary Reading Attitude Survey

Directions for Use
he tiementarn heading ttitude Survey
prUvIdes a quick indication ot student attitude
Teading It consists ot O items and
be administefed to an entire clasrOom in about l
an

utes tach tem presents a briet smpiy worded statement about read1ng, tollowcd by four pi
tures artheid tach pane is designed to deput a ditterent emotional state, ranging 1rom very
pOSitve to verv negativ

Dn telling students that vou wish to find out how they teel about read1ng. Lmphasize that
this is n0t a test and that there are n o
"ight
answers Encourage sincery

Stibute the survE torms and it vou ivish to monitor the attitudes of specifhc students, asSk
h e m to write t h e r names in the space at the top. Hold up a copy of the survey so that the stu
dents can see the nrst page Point to the picture of Garfield at the far left of the hrst item. AS
ne
Srents to loOs at this same picture on their own surver formn. Discuss with them the mo
o a r n e . c e e m s to be in ivery happv. Then move to the next picture and again discuss a r n e i
oo t n i s ime a little happv).ln the same way, move to the third and fourth pictures and talk

about Gartteld s moods-a little upset and verv upset. It is helpful to point out the positionn or

Garheld's mouth. especially in the middle two

igures.
Explain that together you will read some statements about reading and that the students sthouia
tnins about how thev feel about each statement. Thev should then circle the picture of Garntd
tnat is Cosest to their own feelings. (Emphasize that the students should respond accorag
their own teelings, not as Garield might respond) Read each item aloud slowly and disunctiy
then read it a second time while students are thinking. Be sure to read the item iunmber and to

Temind students of page numbers when new reached.

pages are

Sconing
loscore the survey, count four points for each leftmost (happiest) Garfield circled, three for
each slightly smiling Garfield, two for each mildly upset Garfield, and one point for each very
upset ightmost) Garfield. Three scores for each student can be obtained: the total for the first
10 items, the total for the second 10, and a composite total. The first half of the survey relates to
attitude tOward recreational reading; the second half relates to attitude toward academic aspects
of reading.

Interpretation
You can interpret scores in two ways. One isto note informally where the score falls in regard to
the four nodes of the scale. A total score of 50, for example, would fall about midway on the scale,
between the slightly happy and slightly upset figures, therefore indicating a relatively indifferent
overall attitude toward reading. The other
approach is more formal. It involves converting the
raw scores into
percentile ranks by means of the table in the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey
Scoring Sheet. Be sure to use the norms for the right grade level and to note the column headings
Rec =
recreational reading, Aca academic reading, Tot total score). If
=

you wish to determine

=

the average percentile rank for your class, average the raw scores first; then
use the table to locate
the percentile rank
corresponding to the raW SCOre nmean. P'ercentile ranks cannot be averaged
directy.