LASSI: An Australian evaluation of an enduring study skills assessment tool

Abstract

This study assesses the reliability and validity of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), an American survey instrument, in an Australian context. The results of this study were compared with those generated by a comparison study held at a different Australian university and also against other internationally published research. There was a high degree of similarity between the LASSI scores from the students at the two Australian universities, however these scores were considerably different from norms published in the LASSI manual. The students’ scores in this study were also compared with data on their gender and age and the analysis demonstrated significant differences in both instances. A comparison of the results from this research against its earlier companion study suggests a degree of test-retest reliability for the LASSI instrument in the Australian undergraduate context in which the studies were conducted. However, a principal component analysis of the data in this study raises questions about the validity of the LASSI as a measure of students’ study skills and learning strategies.