This study describes the development and initial construct validation of the Student Strengths Inventory (SSI), a brief measure of noncognitive variables previously found to be related to college student outcomes. A sample of 760 first-year college students completed an initial item pool in addition to a lengthier, established noncognitive assessment tool with similar constructs. Results support a 48-item, six-factor measure with the following scales: Academic Self-efficacy, Academic Engagement, Campus Engagement, Resiliency, Social Comfort, and Educational Commitment. The SSI demonstrates good internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Future research is needed to examine the predictive validity of the SSI subscales with respect to academic performance and persistence. Practice implications include providing individualized feedback to students on their noncognitive strengths and weaknesses and helping them set goals for their academic success. Moreover, the results of the SSI can inform interventions at the individual, group, and institutional level.
Non-cognitive assessment is used to identify at-risk college students and leverage limited resources to promote academic performance and persistence. Instruments that measure these psychosocial attitudes and skills require self-reported responses and, thus, may be subject to distortion. This study examined the social desirability response bias in a specific non-cognitive assessment tool, the Student Strengths Inventory (SSI), including gender and ethnic differences. Results show that college students did not respond to the SSI in a socially desirable way. Additionally, the SSI subscales contributed to significant variance in the prediction of academic performance and persistence. This study empirically supports the use of non-cognitive assessment in higher education and suggests interventions for using non-cognitive assessment data at the individual, group, and aggregate level.
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