Development, Validity, and Reliability of a Scale for Exam Preparation Strategies Among Students

Abstract

Background and Objectives The aim of the present study was to introduce a valid and reliable scale for the assessment of exam preparation strategies among students at Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran during the academic year 2015 - 2016. Methods In this descriptive exploratory research, a 25-item scale was developed based on a Likert scale in accordance with the literature.Face validity of the scale was confirmed, based on the comments of educational sciences experts. Three reliability indices, composite reliability, construct reliability, and internal consistency, were calculated. In addition to confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and divergent validities were determined. Results The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated 2 underlying constructs: 1) deep exam preparation strategies, including 12 items (coefficient, 0.60 - 0.80; specificity, 12.4); and 2) shallow exam preparation strategies, including 13 items (coefficient, 0.61 - 0.76; specificity, 2.15). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94 for the first underlying construct and 0.92 for the second construct. In addition, the convergent validity coefficients ranged from 0.50 to 0.57, thus confirming the validity of the constructs. Moreover, the average variance extracted (AVE) of the constructs was higher than the squared correlation of the constructs; therefore, the divergent validity of the scale was confirmed. Conclusions The present scale for exam preparation strategies consisted of 2 constructs (deep and shallow approaches) and 25 items (deep approach, 12 items; shallow approach, 13 items). According to the analyses, the reliability and validity of the scale were confirmed. Therefore, this scale can be applied by instructors and students to evaluate exam preparation strategies.