Student-Set Goals Help Transform ReadersPLUS Participants’ Attitudes on Learning

When our young Readers^PLUS participants sit down for their first tutoring session this year, they’re asked to do something that might seem simple but is crucial to their success: set their own learning goal. Not what their teacher thinks they should achieve, or what standardized tests suggest they need, but what they want to accomplish.

The goal-setting process becomes a powerful tool for engagement. In this first session of the semester, students work with their tutors to create SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely objectives) they can achieve by semester’s end. Regular check-ins and lesson plans designed with this goal in mind help track progress and maintain momentum.

“I think them realizing that this goal is very attainable also helps them and motivates them to get to that place because it’s something that they want to do of their own volition,” Mahina, Readers^PLUS student leader and Central Coordinator explained. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. So we can do all these activities and we can set these goals for them, but if it’s something that they don’t want to do, they’re just not going to simply do it.”

This student-centered approach reflects Readers^PLUS’s growing emphasis on social-emotional learning, supported by pre- and post-program attitude surveys that capture how students feel about reading and math in addition to measuring academic progress. Using a five-point emoji scale that ranges from sad to happy faces, the surveys invite students to color in their responses, making the assessment both accessible and engaging for elementary learners.

“We’re really trying to engage the students as learners, to have our tutors learn with the students rather than teaching at them,” explains Beth Levinson, Readers^PLUS Program Administrator. “The students are engaged in their own learning, and it’s more of a partnership through this learning goal. It’s like a contract that they’ve incorporated into their learning.”

The shift reflects a deliberate move away from competing with schools’ academic goals toward occupying what Levinson calls “the social-emotional learning space.” Instead of solely focusing on the promise of simply bringing students up to grade level, Readers^PLUS is actively helping students feel more positive about learning and empowered in their educational journey.

“We hope to support students in developing a more positive attitude toward learning, their performance, and this subject in particular,” Levinson notes. The surveys ask questions such as “How do you feel about a difficult math problem?” or “How do you feel when you’re given a book to read?” The responses help the Readers^PLUS team measure progress toward fostering a more positive attitude. We hope that a more positive attitude toward the subject will result in more engaged and successful learners. 

The program has already seen the positive impact of this approach. Mahina described working with two students with very different needs and personalities that already showed during the goal setting process. For a student who preferred physical activities over reading, Mahina created associations between movement and learning; using hopscotch to practice syllables and hand exercises to understand pronunciation. “By the end, I think he cared less about the movement and was genuinely excited to practice his reading – he just kind of had a more positive attitude towards it,” Mahina observed.

Another student, initially shy and giving only short answers, gradually opened up through the semester. “From going from getting me very short, yes and no answers to being able to write a story was amazing, and that was not something I could have coaxed her to do in the beginning before we really worked on the socio-emotional component,” the coordinator reflected. By engaging students in their learning based on their own interests and attitudes, and working towards their own learning goal, this tutor was able to see real learning success. 

This approach of incorporating the learner into the process and giving them agency addresses a crucial challenge in supplemental education programs: students who struggle with reading or math often feel defeated before they begin. “Students—especially those who already struggle with literacy or math—often approach these subjects with a mindset that feels discouraging,” Levinson acknowledges. “Many think, ‘Now I have to do this extra tutoring session because I’m behind.’ But when we support them not just by teaching the material, but also by engaging with their own interests and learning goals, they gradually begin to see that learning can be both achievable and enjoyable.”

By focusing on attitude, interests and self-perception rather than test scores, Readers^PLUS has found a way to support both academic and emotional growth while respecting the primary educational role of schools. The approach recognizes that learning happens best when students feel ownership over their educational journey. When, as Levinson puts it, “learning isn’t happening to, but with them.”