Assessing Adolescents' Motivation to Read

Okay, I guess I'll find out who's reading this blog--because I found the article a bit pedantic.  Here are my thoughts as I read through the paper--and anyone who did not have the opportunity to read it may use my marked-up copy.

• First I thought this grouping of authors was unusual--but evidently they got together at a conference and decided to see if they could figure out how to motivate kids to read.
• The first sentence elicited a groan from me--anyone teaching adolescents (I hope) could tell you that if they can read their "preferred reading materials" and if teachers will use their "preferred...modes of instruction"--then the kids will be more motivated and "perhaps...[demonstrate] improvements in reading outcomes."
• "Recent studies have suggested that few adolescents choose to read on their own."  Duh.
• "Our work suggests that teachers need to ask different questions of adolescents than of younger children."  Again, duh.  Yet there isn't an instrument for us to assess 7-12 readers?  Not one available to we who would like to do this?
• "How do teachers define reading?  What kinds of reading will motivate adolescents today?  How can these types of reading be incorporated into secondary classrooms?"  These are all good questions--does NCLB/CCSS/etc. even care?
• Nonreaders find reading unrewarding or too difficult or not worth it.
• Aliterate adolescents can read but choose not to do so.
• The study focused on two strands:

           *outside of school readers (those who through the internet, etc. "meet their competency needs" on their own.
          * students as victims of schools [and teachers!] who have devalued literacy activities. {As an aside, I wonder if these researchers would assign a level in Dante's Inferno to these  individuals or simply time in Purgatorio.}

• When they say "school practices" I think they are referring to--in part--federal regulations--although I think they are unaware of this.
• What about students who ARE motivated?  Or what about those who WEREN'T at one time--but have suddenly become hungry to read? 
• Who would use an elementary measure w/high school?  Before this class, I would have just so I would have a clue--We are not given students' reading levels or lexiles, etc.  {CLAP, CLAP, CLAP}  It is so good that they revised the elementary MRP for adolescents:  AMRP.  This was the next six pages in the article and ones that I will use.  There follows directions and scoring sheet.

Now their study results......

• Females score higher.  (Shock!)
• Males did better in their early teens but dropped later on.
• Females valued reading more than males. 
• Females actually increased value of reading as they grew older.
• African American and Afro/Indo-Trini adolescents valued reading significantly more than Caucasians.
• "Generally, students' self concepts as readers and their value of reading coincided with their reading choices and overall enjoyment of reading."

DID YOU KNOW...
     Teachers' enthusiasm can have a tremendous impact on students' reading habits and attitudes?
     Adolescents clearly identified the importance of choice?
     Students enjoyed teachers allowing them to choose a book to read and valued choice in topics and
                formats for assigned projects.
Well, I did too.

When I first skimmed this article, it seemed they were right on track--but when I evaluated it piecemeal, I decided they could have had coffee with me--maybe a light meal--and I could have given them all this information.  Although this study was held at eight different sites, they only had 384 adolescents involved.  Honestly, I could do that at my high school alone (if I had the time--and since I'm not a graduate student nor do I have a graduate assistant to assist me---ah, well.)  Perhaps I should see if I could replicate some one's study and get published in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy....hmmmmmmmmm.