VALIDATION OF THE TEACHER RATING OF ACADEMIC-ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

The Teacher Rating of Academic Achievement Motivation (TRAAM) is a scale in development designed to measure children's academic motivation and to be used in a multifactored assessment. This study examined construct and criterion-related validity of the TRAAM with an elementary school sample. Gender and grade differences in academic motivation also were examined. Construct validity was established by investigating the relationship of the TRA-AM with the Scale of Instrinsic vs. Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom (SIEOC), the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI), and the Social Skills Rating System-Teacher version, elementary level (SSRS-T). Criterion-related validity of the scale was demonstrated by using the TRAAM factors and Total Score, the SIEOC and CAIMI subscales, and the SSRS-T Social Skills subscales and Academic Competence domain to predict problem behaviors and academic achievement. A discussion of the TRAAM's limitations concludes the article.