Published: March 18, 2011 Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. 561 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed900071q | J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 561–568 ARTICLE pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc Refinement of a Chemistry Attitude Measure for College Students Xiaoying Xu and Jennifer E. Lewis* Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States b S Supporting Information A ssessment is an essential component of education. Results from assessments serve diverse functions for diagnosis, placement, prediction, and so forth. Course instructors rely on tests, for example, to obtain information on students’ mastery of content knowledge and other contextual variables, such as problem solving and creativity. At another level, most colleges use SAT or ACT test scores for college admissions, and GRE test scores for graduate admissions. Test scores allow comparisons, although a long and vigorous debate has taken place among education stakeholders regarding how to interpret test scores and create education policy. The debate has devel- oped into a national concern since the passage in 2001 of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which includes a strong focus on assessment. Critics focus on the limitations of tests, potential misinterpretations of test scores, and the unintended consequences of a testing program. It is often difficult for an educator to evaluate the arguments for and against a particular approach. While there are no easy answers, a better understanding of educational measurement theory can provide necessary nuance to discussions of education policy. The full assortment of measurement theories and practices is beyond the scope of this paper, but the basics are pertinent for all of us who teach chemistry and are aware of the need to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education outcomes at the national level. For the purpose of assessing both academic achievement and noncognitive variables such as atti- tude, the first and most important thing is to find “good” assessments. This study will present one way to proceed with this task. ’ WHY ATTITUDE? The term “attitude” falls within the purview of “scientific literacy”, which is a central goal of science education. Usually, scientific literacy focuses on the cognitive knowledge dimension, as high- lighted by the proposition “the scientifically literate person accurately applies appropriate science concepts, principles, laws, and theories in interacting with his [sic] universe”. 1 However, many science educators emphasize that noncognitive factors such as values and attitudes are important components of science literacy. According to the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, 2 spelling out the “knowledge, skills, and attitudes all students should acquire as a consequence of their total school experience” is a requirement for a curriculum to be considered as promoting scientific literacy. Here AAAS places attitudes on an equal footing with knowledge and skills. Appropriately, many research studies have investigated stu- dents’ attitudes toward learning science. 3À7 The last thing educators want to see is students scoring high on standard tests, but thinking that science is depressing, boring, or otherwise unpleasant, and never again using their scientific knowledge after it is no longer compulsory to do so. High-quality science courses that promote both content knowledge and a positive attitude toward science are important for students to stay in advanced science programs and to pursue science-related careers. Science educators have made great efforts to develop innovative pro- grams, with emphasis on problem solving, inquiry-based learn- ing, hands-on activities, real-world contexts, and computer-aided ABSTRACT: This work presents the evaluation and refinement of a chemistry attitude measure, Attitude toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory (ASCI), for college students. The original 20-item and revised 8-item versions of ASCI (V1 and V2) were administered to different samples. The evaluation for ASCI had two main foci: reliability and validity. This study provides evidence for good reliability and validity of ASCI (V2) scores. Reliability was estimated by satisfying internal consistency and testÀretest reliability. The two-factor (“intellectual accessibility” and “emotional satisfaction”) correlated structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The two subscales could be indicators of cognition and affect components of attitude, and thus make a good connection with a theoretical framework from psychology. Regarding the attitu- deÀachievement relationship, students’ attitudes played a significant role in predicting final achievement in a general chemistry course even when initial ability scores were taken into account. Implications for science education are discussed. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Graduate Education/Research, Chemical Education Research, Testing/Assessment FEATURE: Chemical Education Research