Sample Reports

SMALSI Sample Test Report Download

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Authors 

Kathy Chatham Stroud, Ph.D., and Cecil R. Reynolds, Ph.D.

Measure student learning strategies early and intervene proactively

Poor study skills, ineffective learning strategies, test anxiety–all of these things impede academic success. And they often go unrecognized until a student enters college and is placed in a remedial program.

With the new School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI), you may now measure the skills related to academic success early in a student’s school career. This allows you to address any weaknesses proactively–rather than waiting for repeated academic failures to determine that a student needs help.

Assess academic motivation, learning strategies, and study habits

Designed for both special and general education students, this new self-report inventory assesses 10 primary constructs associated with academic motivation, learning strategies, and study habits, 7 focusing on student strengths and 3 focusing on student liabilities:

Strengths

Study Strategies
Note-Taking/Listening Skills
Reading/Comprehension Strategies
Writing/Research Skills
Test-Taking Strategies
Organisational Techniques
Time Management

Liabilities

Low Academic Motivation
Test Anxiety
Concentration/Attention Difficulties

Scores from these scales provide enough information to identify problems that interfere with academic development. An Inconsistent Responding index is also included as a validity measure.

Screen individuals or groups in just 20 to 30 minutes 

The SMALSI is available in two forms. The Child Form (147 items) is for students ages 8 to 12 years; the Teen Form (170 items) is for ages 13 to 18 years. Both forms are written at a third-grade reading level and may be completed in about 20 to 30 minutes. And both use a 4-point response scale, ranging from “Never” to “Almost Always.” Scored by hand or computer, the SMALSI provides multiple scores, rather than one overall score. The unlimited-use scoring CD (W-398U-3) offers you an efficient and cost-effective way to screen large school populations. The SMALSI audio CD allows poor readers, who are often at risk for academic failure, to complete the SMALSI by listening to test items and then responding.

The SMALSI was standardised on a sample of 2,921 students – 1,821 ages 8 to 12 years (Child Form) and 1,100 ages 13 to 18 years (Teen Form) most from public schools. The sample reflects the U.S. population in terms of gender, ethnicity, and parental education.

Identify and directly target weak learning strategies

Unlike many other learning measures, the SMALSI does not assess learning styles, preferences, or other process dimensions. Instead, it assesses the actual strategies students use in learning and test taking which are strategies shown through research to be related to academic success. The SMALSI is a quick, cost-effective way to identify students who may have ineffective or poorly developed learning strategies, low levels of academic motivation, attention and concentration problems, difficulties with test taking, or test anxiety. It can be used for the following purposes:

Screening in regular education
Pre-referral intervention
Assessing students with learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, or ADHD

Based on more than 30 years of research, the SMALSI allows you to identify and directly target poor learning strategies. It is the tool that makes early intervention possible.

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