Overview

What is the LASSI assessment and what does it measure? The LASSI is a 10-scale, 77-item assessment of students' awareness about and use of learning and study strategies related to skill, will and self-regulation components of strategic learning. The focus is on both covert and overt thoughts, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that relate to successful learning and that can be altered through educational interventions. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that these factors contribute significantly to success in college and that they can be learned or enhanced through educational interventions such as learning and study skills courses.

The LASSI provides standardized scores (percentile score equivalents) and national norms for ten different scales (there is no total score since this is a diagnostic measure). The LASSI is both diagnostic and prescriptive. It provides students with a diagnosis of their strengths and weaknesses, compared to other college students, in the areas covered by the 10 scales and it is prescriptive in that it provides feedback about areas where students may be weak and need to improve their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and skills.

Skill Component of Strategic Learning

The LASSI scales related to the skill component of strategic learning are: Information Processing, Selecting Main Ideas and Test Strategies. These scales examine students' learning strategies, skills and thought processes related to identifying, acquiring and constructing meaning for important new information, ideas and procedures, and how they prepare for and demonstrate their new knowledge on tests or other evaluative procedures.

The Will Component of Strategic Learning

The LASSI Scales related to the will component of strategic learning are: Attitude, Motivation and Anxiety. These scales measure students' receptivity to learning new information, their attitudes and interest in college, their diligence, self-discipline, and willingness to exert the effort necessary to successfully complete academic requirements, and the degree to which they worry about their academic performance.

The Self-regulation Component of Strategic Learning

The LASSI Scales related to the self-regulation component of strategic learning are: Concentration; Time Management; Self-Testing and Study Aids. These scales measure how students manage, or self-regulate and control, the whole learning process through using their time effectively, focusing their attention and maintaining their concentration over time, checking to see if they have met the learning demands for a class, an assignment or a test, and using study supports such as review sessions, tutors or special features of a textbook.