Assessing Study Skills in College Students: A Review of Three Measures

Interventions focused on bolstering college student study skills—that is, techniques and strategies necessary to prepare for and complete schoolwork and tests (Proctor, Prevatt, Adams, Reaser, & Petscher, 2006; Richardson, Robnolt, & Rhodes, 2010)—have been implemented in a variety of ways, including as part of summer bridge programs, supplemental courses, orientation programs, and targeted student support services (Wibrowski, Matthews, & Kitsantas, 2016). Such intervention programs commonly target time management, reading techniques, note-taking, study techniques, and test-taking strategies (Wernersbach, Crowley, Bates, & Rosenthal, 2014). Studies have demonstrated that academically struggling college students sometimes display weaknesses in study skills (Proctor et al., 2006; Wernersbach et al., 2014). Fortunately, study skills are malleable, and enrollment in courses that include study skills components yields multiple benefits, including improved academic success, retention, and self-efficacy (Cone & Owens, 1991; O’Gara, Karp, & Hughes, 2009; Wernersbach et al., 2014).

Early identification of students who might benefit from further development of study skills is important in implementing related intervention programs, particularly when they are delivered as part of individualized, targeted student support services. Furthermore, for students enrolled in such programs, it would be useful to monitor changes in study skills. This type of assessment could highlight overall program effectiveness, as well as individuals who might require further support. This can be accomplished via general screening and as part of individual assessments focused on identifying the nature of student skills deficits. Thus, the purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of standardized measures of study skills. In our review, we answer the following questions: What measures are available for the college population? and What do the measure characteristics suggest about their utility?

METHOD

Measures were selected for review based on whether they: (a) fit the intended population (i.e., college students), (b) were norm-referenced, (c) were published or renormed within the past 10 years (to permit accurate and appropriate interpretation), and (d) examined study skills factors. Three measures met our inclusion criteria: Kane Learning Difficulties Assessment (KLDA; Kane, 2016); School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory—College (SMALSI-C; Stroud & Reynolds, 2013a); and Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, Third Edition (LASSI–3; Weinstein, Palmer, & Acee, 2016a).

Selected measures were reviewed according to general and usability characteristics (e.g., population, informant, constructs of interest, qualities of administration, scoring, feasibility, treatment utility) and psychometric properties (e.g., validity indices, reliability, norm development). Review criteria were based in part on factors identified by Feeney-Kettler, Kratochwill, Kaiser, Hemmeter, and Kettler (2010) and Glover and Albers (2007).

Kane Learning Difficulties Assessment

Description

The KLDA (Kane, 2016; Kane & Clark, 2016) is a self-report measure designed to assess individual learning strengths, learning weaknesses, and academic skills. It is composed of 9 scales (see Table 2) and 14 subscales, including Physiological, Processing and Comprehension, Attention, Listening-Processing, Writing-Processing, Spelling, Note-Taking, Copying, Mathematics-Processing, Symbolic Understanding, In-Class and Testing, Procrastination, Organization, and Task-Focus. All scales contribute to the Overall Academic Risk score. The KLDA consists of 120 items (e.g., “I wait to the last minute to start doing a task or assignment”; “I can never find something when I need it”) and requires examinees to respond using a 5-point Likert scale, indicating the degree to which they agree with each item. The KLDA takes about 15 minutes to complete and can be used in large-scale or small-scale screenings of students.

Usability

The KLDA can be purchased as a Hybrid Kit which includes the manual, response booklets, and computer-generated score reports; the Digital Kit adds an electronic manual and online administrations. According to the manual (Kane & Clark, 2016), the KLDA helps identify individuals at risk for learning difficulties and those with other issues that affect learning, such as anxiety, memory, or functional problems (e.g., poor organization, procrastination). It can be used with students in vocational schools, technical colleges, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, and graduate schools. The manual includes suggestions for interventions and accommodations for each identified weakness.

Reliability, Validity, and Norm Development.

Alpha coefficients for all but one of the scales ranged...