Validity evidence for a short scale of college students' perceptions of cost

Although there is a growing body of literature on how cost influences academic outcomes, we have little understanding of how students' costs fluctuate dynamically in their academic environment. To facilitate this, we shortened the 19-item scale developed by Flake, Barron, Hulleman, McCoach, and Welsh (2015) to measure four dimensions of cost in college classrooms. A validation study was conducted by considering multiple sources of validity evidence (content, structural, convergent, and predictive) from two sample classrooms (statistics and calculus) to select one item per dimension. The resulting four-item scale was then piloted in introductory college calculus classrooms to examine how the items performed. This validation study results in a short scale that researchers can use in the classroom, paving the way for research into students' perceptions of cost, how it changes over time, and how we can intervene to support success.