Assessing Academic Advising Outcomes Using Social Cognitive Theory: A Validity and Reliability Study

Abstract

The validity and reliability of three instruments, the Counselor Rubric for Gauging Student Understanding of Academic Planning, micro-analytic questions, and the Student Survey for Understanding Academic Planning, all based on social cognitive theory, were tested as means to assess self-efficacy and self-regulated learning in college academic planning. The rubric assessed pre- and post-intervention self-regulated learning of academic-planning strategy levels. The micro-analytic questions assessed self-regulated learning during forethought and self-reflection phases. Post-intervention self-efficacy in academic planning and retrospectively evaluated pre-intervention self-efficacy were measured by the survey. All three instruments showed strong validity and reliability, but the survey did not distinguish between different self-efficacy challenge levels.