Helping Students Make Informed Choices About College
Category: Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
Instrument Overview
Expert Notes AvailableView expert commentary on strengths and cautions for this instrument
Strengths
Useful for identifying students needing transition support interventions. Integrates multiple dimensions of preparedness beyond academic skills.
Cautions
Limited evidence of predictive validity across diverse populations. May underweight structural barriers affecting college success.
The College Readiness Scale (CRS) was designed to measure college readiness for teenagers with ADHD. It is a self-report measure focusing on behaviors related to college readiness (Maitland & Quinn, 2011). The 43-item scale has three subscales:
- Self-determination, including self-knowledge, communication skills, and self-management (15 items).
- Daily living skills, including self-care, organization, and time management (13 items).
- Academic skills, including self-knowledge, study skills, and time management for academic tasks (15 items).
The Likert-scale items range from 0 “never/not at all” to 4 “very often/very true.” The internal reliability of the CRS is .95.
Organization
Collection Category(ies)
Content
Grades
9th Grade,
10th Grade,
11th Grade,
12th Grade,
Post secondary
Languages
English
Respondent
Student
Administration Information
Length
43 items
Administration
Paper
Access and Use
Price
Free (can be obtained from the book by Maitland & Quinn, 2011, see Psychometric Resources below).
Use in Research
Canu, W. H., Stevens, A. E., Ranson, L., Lefler, E. K., LaCount, P., Serrano, J. W., ... & Hartung, C. M. (2021). College readiness: Differences between first-year undergraduates with and without ADHD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 54(6), 403-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420972693
Psychometrics (additional guidance)
Psychometric References
Maitland, T. L., & Quinn, P. O. (2011). Ready for take-off: Preparing your teen with ADHD or LD for college. Magination Press.
