Affective & Non-Cognitive Issues

Hunger and Homelessness Are Widespread Among College Students, Study Finds

As college students grapple with the rising costs of classes and books, mortgaging their futures with student loans in exchange for a diploma they're gambling will someday pay off, it turns out many of them are in great financial peril in the present, too.

Affective Assessment for Developmental Students, Part I

Accurate assessment, effective academic advising, and appropriate placement are critical components of successful developmental education programs (Boylan, 2002; McCabe, 2000; Morante, 1989). Assessment is necessary in order to determine what student skills need to be developed. Advising is necessary to ensure that students know what assessment results mean and why they need to be placed in specific courses.

Affective Assessment for Developmental Students, Part II

Affective assessment can offer college advisors some insight into a student’s motivation, attitude, autonomy, or anxiety about his or her upcoming college learning experience (Saxon, Levine-Brown, & Boylan, 2008). It is argued that these factors may be as important to student success as academic skills and preparation (Sedlacek, 2004). Various assessment instruments and/or combinations of instruments can assist college administrators in understanding students.

How Growing Up in Poverty Rewires a Child’s Developing BrainThe stress of poverty makes it harder for kids to learn. But neuroscientists are helping parents and teachers bridge the gap. #ProjectLiteracy

Does Financial Aid Impact College Student Engagement?

While increasing numbers of students have gained access to higher education during the last several decades, postsecondary persistence and academic success remain serious concerns with only about half of college entrants completing degrees. Given concerns about affordability and resources, policymakers and administrators wonder how financial aid impacts student outcomes, particularly among low-income students.

"I Didn't Know How to Ask for Help": Stories of Students with Anxiety -- The Chronicle of Higher Ed

You don’t have to look far to find them. Here’s what they want you to know.

The Need to Address Noncognitive Skills in the Education Policy AgendaDespite noncognitive skills’ central roles in our education and, more broadly, our lives, education analysis and policy have tended to overlook their importance. Thus, there are currently few strategies to nurture them within the school context or through education policies. However, after a relatively prolonged lack of consideration, noncognitive skills are again beginning to be acknowledged in discussions about education, leading to the need for thoughtful and concerted attention from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

Why ‘Unlearning’ Old Habits Is An Essential Step For InnovationEducators at a school near Boston is making the effort to unlearn old habits and perspectives that get in the way of more effective solutions.

The subtle ways colleges discriminate against poor students, explained with a cartoonWe stunt upward mobility and make college a finishing school for the affluent.

Readiness for College: The Role of Non-Cognitive Factors and Context - University of Chicago

The goal of the literature review was to develop a coherent and evidence-based framework for considering the role of noncognitive factors in increasing student attainment and to identify critical gaps in the knowledge base and in the link between research and practice.

A List of Non-Cognitive Assessment Instruments, from CCRC

In discourse on student learning in school settings, “non-cognitive skills” refers to a group of skills and attributes that, although difficult to define and measure, are widely acknowledged to be essential for student success.

Recasting Non-Academic Factors in College Readiness as What They Truly Are: Non-Academic Factors - by Amanda Sommerfeld

Against the backdrop of traditional measures of college readiness (i.e., high school GPA, standardized test scores, and high school rank), the consideration of “non-cognitive” factors marked a significant departure when they were first discussed as integral aspects of college success. Used to refer to any characteristic, ability or disposition that was theorized to affect college success or retention, the term “non-cognitive” became a kind of a catchall for any variables beyond those “cognitive” or “intellectual” variables listed above. However, the term “non-cognitive” is now and has always been a misnomer, used to refer to a vast array of constructs, many of which reflect cognitive process.