Development and Initial Validation of the Student Strengths - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Development and Initial Validation of the Student Strengths Inventory: A Measure of Non-cognitive Variables that Impact Student Performance and Retention

Wade Leuwerke, Ph.D. Elma Dervisevic, BS Drake University

34% - Four-year graduation rate at two-year institutions

• (Swail, 2004)

53% - Six-year graduation rate at four-year institutions

• (Carey, 2004)

First to second year retention rates

• (ACT, 2009)

Graduation and Retention Rates

Selective 82.2% Traditional 71.5% Open 65.1% Two-Year 53.9%

 Primary focus on cognitive factors (ACT, HSGPA)  Pre-enrollment situational (e.g., SES)  Post-enrollment situational (e.g., Housing)  Non-cognitive/motivational (e.g., engagement)

 10 non-cognitive variables that are strong predictors of

student outcomes

 Different predictors for retention vs. performance  Approximately 4 – 6 of these offer significant

incremental validity over standardized tests and HS GPA

 Robbins et al., (2004)

Student Success Models

SSI Development

 Rational and factor analytic methods  Homogeneous and objective measures of six factors  Initial pool of 243 items developed by team of 6 researchers  Reduced to 81 items through consensus  10 – 14 items for each construct  1 – 6 (strongly disagree – strongly agree)

• Academic engagement
• Academic self-efficacy
• Campus engagement
• Social comfort
• Resiliency
• Educational commitment

Methods

 Administered to N = 760 first-year college students at

two large western universities (one urban commuter and one rural residential)

 45% men and 55% women  Caucasian (65%), Mexican/Chicano (9%), multiracial

(5%), Asian American (5%), American Indian (5%), Puerto Rican/Cuban/Other (3.4%) and African American (2.6%)  Over 8,000 students included in predictive modeling

analysis

Analysis

 Factor Analysis

 Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation  6 factor structure converged in 11 iterations  Accounted for 45% of variance among items

 Reliability

 Internal Consistency

 Construct Validity

 Correlation with Student Readiness Inventory

 Predictive Validity

 Prediction of retention and first semester GPA

Factor Correlations

Factor 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Educational Commitment 1 2 Social Comfort .150 1

3 Resiliency

.052 .217 1 4 Campus Engagement .329 .302 .114 1 5 Academic Engagement .320 .090 .142 .178 1 6 Academic Self-Efficacy .376 .186 .177 .316 .336 1

Reliability and Construct Validity

 Cronbach’s alphas ranged from .81 to .90  Cross measure correlations CC SA EC SC AD ASC 1 Educational Commitment .58 .11 .09 .23 .38 .10 2 Social Comfort .22 .67 .18 .51 .08 .10

3 Resiliency

.04 .14 .50 .05 .03 .27 4 Campus Engagement .30 .18 .13 .39 .22 .05 5 Academic Engagement .34 .01 .18 .10 .58 .14 6 Academic Self-Efficacy .41 .13 .18 .23 .39 .37

SRI SSI

Reliability and Construct Validity

 Scale relations with ACT scores and High School GPA ACT HSGPA 1 Educational Commitment .13 .13 2 Social Comfort .06 .10 3 Resiliency .02 .06 4 Campus Engagement .10 .14 5 Academic Engagement .06 .23 6 Academic Self-Efficacy .10 .28

First Semester GPA First Year GPA

ACT + HSGPA

Academic Engagement Academic Self-efficacy

Resiliency

18% 28% ACT + HSGPA

Academic Engagement Campus Engagement

Resiliency

20% 29%

Predictive Validity

First to Second Year Retention

Educational Commitment Campus Engagement

Predictive Validity

Aturitjon Percent Accurately Identjfjed Random 28.5 ACT Composite Score 28.7 ACT + HSGPA 50.9 HSGPA + SSI Risk 65.5 Prediction of Academic Outcomes

Predictive Validity

SW Large Rural Residential

SC Medium Rural Regional Comp

Small MNT West Rural State

Large MW Urban

Student Strengths Inventory

Student Strengths Inventory Scales and Sample Items

Scale Definition Sample Item

Academic Engagement The value an individual places on academics and attentiveness to school work. I turn my homework in on time. Academic Self- Efficacy An individual’s confidence in his or her ability to achieve academically and succeed in college. I will excel in my chosen major. Educational Commitment An individual’s dedication to college and the value placed upon a college degree. I see value in completing a college education. Resiliency An individual’s approach to challenging situations and stressful events. I manage stress well. Social Comfort An individual’s comfort in social situations and ability to communicate with others. I am comfortable in groups. Campus Engagement Involvement in campus activities and attachment to the college/university. Being active in extra-curricular activities in college is important to me.

SSI Summary

 Strong reliability and validity  Brief measure of non-cognitive factors

 Measures 6 factors critical to student success

 Customizable individual student report  Training to support data use models and

individual interpretation strategies

 Questions:

wade.leuwerke@drake.edu www.studentstrengthsinventory.com

References

ACT, Inc. (2009). National collegiate retention and persistence to degree

• rates. Iowa City, IA: Author.

Carey, K. (2004). A matter of degrees: Improving four-year colleges and

• universities. Washington, DC, Education Trust.

Swail, W. S. (2004). Legislation to improve graduation rates could have the opposite effect. Chronicle of Higher Education, 50. Robbins, S., Lauver, K., Le, H., Langley, R., Davis, D., & Carlstrom, A. (2004). Do psychological and study skill factors predict college

• utcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 261-288.