A Comparative Analysis of Contemporary Achievement Goal Orientation Measures

Abstract

As research on achievement goals has increased, so has the number of different measures of goal orientations. In this article, the authors examined three popular measures of task and ego achievement goal orientations in terms of factorial and construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and distributional characteristics. College students completed the Ability and Task Orientation scales from the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey (PALS), Task and Ego Motivational Orientation Scales, and the General Learning and Performance Goal Orientations Scales. The first two sets of scales assess goal orientations for schoolwork, whereas the third is more general. To assess construct validity, the scales were correlated with the Jackson Achievement Orientation Scale, beliefs concerning the role of effort and ability in success, and interest/enjoyment of and boredom with schoolwork. The PALS scales generally faired the best in terms of distributional characteristics, factorial validity, and construct validity.