College and Career Readiness for Transition (CCR4T)

Abstract

The College and Career Readiness for Transition (CCR4T), developed by Lombardi et al. (2023), is a comprehensive self-report questionnaire designed to measure both academic and nonacademic skills essential for successful adult outcomes following high school. Crucially, the instrument is applicable across the entire student population, including youth both with and without disabilities. Its development was systematically guided by a five-domain assessment framework (Lombardi et al., 2020), followed by extensive expert review and field testing.

The finalized CCR4T consists of 64 items. Its psychometric properties were rigorously evaluated using a diverse sample of high school students drawn from five institutions across three U.S. states. The evaluation confirmed the measure’s robustness through analyses of its factor structure, Item Response Theory (IRT) parameters, internal reliability, and various forms of validity.

Keywords

College and Career Readiness, Transition, Disabilities, Ownership of Learning, Interpersonal Engagement, Career Development, Academic Engagement and Processes, Psychometric Evaluation.

Authors

Lombardi, Allison R., Rifenbark, Graham G., Rogers, H. Jane, Swaminathan, Hariharan, Taconet, Ashley, Mazzotti, Valerie L., Morningstar, Mary E., Wu, Rongxiu, Langdon, Shannon.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CCR4T questionnaire is to serve as a standardized research and practical tool for advancing the field of College and Career Readiness. By providing a reliable measure of transition-related competencies, the instrument facilitates research into effective educational practices for diverse student populations.

Furthermore, the CCR4T is intended to support practical applications in educational settings, particularly by facilitating the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) within transition services delivery. This helps educators identify student needs and tailor interventions aimed at improving post-secondary outcomes.

Construct

The CCR4T is designed to assess adolescent perceptions across five key domains critical for post-secondary success, encompassing both academic and non-academic skills. These domains were derived from a comprehensive assessment framework developed by Lombardi et al. (2020).

The final instrument measures the following interrelated constructs, essential for successful movement from high school to adult life:

• Ownership of Learning: Reflects student autonomy, self-regulation, and responsibility for their own education.

• Academic Engagement and Processes: Measures active participation in learning and the utilization of effective academic strategies.

• Interpersonal Engagement: Addresses social skills, communication, and collaboration necessary for college or workplace environments.

• Career Development: Focuses on students’ planning, exploration, and preparation activities related to future careers and post-secondary education.

Validity

The CCR4T underwent multiple rigorous validation procedures to ensure its appropriateness for measuring the intended constructs:

• Content Validity: Content validity was established early in the development process through a thorough review of the items by a panel of subject-matter experts in the field.

• Item Response Theory (IRT): Following initial item development, IRT model fit statistics were utilized to evaluate item performance, resulting in the retention of the final 64 items that demonstrated appropriate fit characteristics.

• Construct Validity: Support for construct validity was provided by the results derived from the factor analysis, confirming that the scale structure aligns theoretically with the intended underlying psychological dimensions (the four-factor solution).

• Convergent Validity: Strong evidence of convergent validity was demonstrated by observing significant correlations between the CCR4T domain scores and established external measures of student success, including academic achievement scores, college admission exam results, and student attendance records.

Reliability

The reliability of the CCR4T was primarily assessed through the calculation of Internal Consistency, focusing on the homogeneity of items within each subscale. The analysis revealed varying item-total correlations across the subscales:

• For the Academic Engagement subscale, item-total correlations ranged from .34 to .76.

• For Interpersonal Engagement, item-total correlations varied from .19 to .75; all four reverse-scored items showed item-total correlations of .4 or less.

• For Ownership of Learning, item-total correlations ranged from .59 to .76.

• For Process-Oriented Skills, estimates ranged from .51 to .76.

• Lastly, for Transition Competencies, estimates ranged from .49 to .79.

Based on these findings, particularly regarding low-performing reverse-scored items, all five reverse-scored items were subsequently removed by the authors to enhance the measure’s overall internal consistency.

Factor Analysis

Both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed to determine the dimensional structure of the CCR4T:

Exploratory Factor Analysis: The authors determined that a four-factor solution was optimal. This decision was based on the solution conforming to a simple structure and yielding factor loadings of 0.40 or greater, in line with McCoach et al. (2013). Regarding model fit, the RMSEA was estimated at 0.043, and the SRMR at 0.028, while the CFI and TLI were estimated at 0.867 and 0.855, respectively.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis: Acceptable global model fit was observed after fitting the model using the robust maximum likelihood estimator, with χ2 (1,948, N = 1,955) = 9,690.77. The CFA indices further supported the structure: the RMSEA was estimated at 0.045, and the SRMR at 0.058.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire.

Format: Students are asked to rate statements using a 6-point Likert scale. The response options range from 1 (totally not like me) to 6 (totally like me), with intermediate options including 2 (mostly not like me), 3 (not like me), 4 (like me), and 5 (mostly like me).

Language Available: English.

Population Group: Human, Male, Female.

Age Group: Adolescence (13-17 years).

Population Details: The respondents were high school students, encompassing both those with and without disabilities, located in the United States.

Test Methodology: The methodology involved various psychometric evaluations, including Test Validity (Construct Validity, Content Validity, Convergent Validity), Test Reliability (Internal Consistency), Factor Analysis (Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis), and Item Response Theory.

Keywords

Adolescent Assessment, High School Transition, Special Education, Psychometric Properties, Self-Determination, Academic Preparedness, Post-Secondary Outcomes.

Authors

Lombardi, Allison R.

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7254-8820

• Affiliation Email addresses: University of Connecticut; [email protected]

• Correspondence Address: University of Connecticut, 249 Glenbrook Road Unit 3064, Storrs, Connecticut, United States, 06269

Rifenbark, Graham G.

• Affiliation: University of Connecticut

Rogers, H. Jane

• Affiliation: University of Connecticut

Swaminathan, Hariharan

• Affiliation: University of Connecticut

Taconet, Ashley

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2407-5114

• Affiliation: University of Connecticut

Mazzotti, Valerie L.

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2616-8859

• Affiliation: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Morningstar, Mary E.

• Affiliation: Portland State University

Wu, Rongxiu

• Affiliation: University of Connecticut

Langdon, Shannon

• Affiliation: University of Connecticut

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Commercial: No

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Lombardi, A. R., Rifenbark, G. G., Rogers, H. J., Swaminathan, H., Taconet, A., Mazzotti, V. L., Morningstar, M. E., Wu, R., & Langdon, S. (2023). Establishing construct validity of a measure of adolescent perceptions of college and career readiness. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 46(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/21651434221081229

Items of the College and Career Readiness for Transition (CCR4T)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The CCR4T consists of 64 items. No data is Available regarding the specific items themselves.

Factors and Subscales: The measure includes the following subscales:

• Ownership of Learning

• Academic Engagement and Processes

• Interpersonal Engagement

• Career Development