Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Learning and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lindif Development of the grit scale for children and adults and its relation to student efficacy, test anxiety, and academic performance Edward D. Sturman a,⁎ , Kerri Zappala-Piemme b a SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury, Department of Psychology, Queensbury, NY, USA b SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury, Educational Leadership, Queensbury, NY, USA ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Grit Anxiety Self-efficacy Standardized test Achievement ABSTRACT We sought to develop a new measure of grit, which would be suitable (i.e. readable) for both schoolchildren and adults. An initial pool of 14 items was administered to a student/community sample in Study 1 and 12 items were selected for the Grit Scale for Children and Adults (GSCA) based on factor loadings. In Study 2, the GSCA was administered to 249 students in grades 3–12. Participants also completed measures of self-efficacy, test anxiety, the Grit-O scale, and standardized tests in ELA, Math and Science. The GSCA demonstrated high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Construct validity was supported by significant correlations with efficacy, anxiety, and other measures of grit. Scores on the GSCA predicted achievement on the ELA and Science stan- dardized tests, over and above an existing grit scale (the Grit-O). The study found initial evidence for the psy- chometric properties of the GSCA and its use in school-children. 1. Introduction Grit has become a key concept in the educational arena thanks in large part to the work of Angela Duckworth and colleagues. Although Duckworth reignited interest in the personality construct, grit has been invoked for many years to champion traits such as perseverance and the determination to overcome setbacks. Stokas (2015) has argued that the dominant class from Teddy Roosevelt's era embraced grit as a way for the privileged class to justify their position, relative to the majority of individuals who lacked the same supports and lived a tough life by today's standards. Others have argued that the current, renewed focus on grit neglects more important socioeconomic variables that under- mine minority performance (see articles on the subject by Cohen, 2015; Kohn, 2014; and Thomas, 2014). While we do not disagree with Stokas (2015) and others that the concept is imbued with many political and social meanings, or that collective support systems play a major role in academic success, we see great value in grit as a personality trait that can predict academic performance across various backgrounds, much in the same way that self-efficacy has been shown to. In 2007, Duckworth et al. introduced grit as a personality trait which could partially account for William James' (1907) observations that some individuals were able to accomplish more than others of si- milar intelligence. Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007) defined grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” Speci- fically, grit was defined as incorporating two factors: 1) Consistency of interest, and 2) Perseverance of effort. Duckworth and colleagues have found grit to predict wide ranging variables from adult educational attainment and career stability to spelling bee performance (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009). These findings sparked renewed attention to the construct from those in the educational arena as a non-cognitive variable that could predict retention and achievement. In the present paper we offer an alternative definition and oper- ationalization of the construct for the following reasons: 1. The Duckworth et al. (2007) Grit-O Scale was thought to require a relatively high reading level and could be problematic or devel- opmentally inappropriate for a younger population. For example, the following items may contain content that is not age appropriate for younger students: “I am diligent,” and “I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.” Our Grit Scale for Children and Adults (GSCA) would (ideally) be suitable for grades 3 to college. 2. Disagreement over the definition of grit, specifically the consistency of interest dimension. On the Grit-O scale, responding positively to items such as “My interests change from year to year” or “I become interested in new pursuits every few months” is thought to reflect a lack of grit. We see no reason why multivaried interests should re- flect a lack of grit. Instead, we propose that it is fine to have wide- ranging, changing interests and grit is reflected in the ability to maintain focus on any one of them and see projects through to completion. Indeed, in a large sample with a wide age range, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.08.004 Received 11 November 2016; Received in revised form 31 July 2017; Accepted 19 August 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Psychology, SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury, 640 Bay Rd., Queensbury, NY, USA. E-mail addresses: estur001@plattsburgh.edu (E.D. Sturman), kzapp002@plattsburgh.edu (K. Zappala-Piemme). Learning and Individual Differences 59 (2017) 1–10 1041-6080/ © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. MARK