A Confirmatory Factory Analysis of the Academic Rational Beliefs Scale for Students attending Minority-Serving Institutions

The academic rational beliefs scale (ARBS) was developed to assess college students’ thoughts that impact educational success. This instrument has the potential to support students’ pursuits of academic achievement, but it should be normed on more diverse populations to support ethical and effective use of the instrument. As such, the researchers administered the ARBS to a diverse sample of students at a minority-serving institution (MSI) in the United States and conducted confirmatory factor analyses to verify the factor structure. The factor structure of the original ARBS did not adequately fit the sample of students, and a revised, two-factor ARBS is presented as a potential measure of academic rational beliefs for students of color attending an MSI. Practical implications and recommendations for future studies are provided.