Validation of a simplified Chinese version of the 3 × 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ-S)

This paper reports on the development of a shortened version of the 3 × 2 achievement goal questionnaire, a psychometrically sound, theoretically driven, self-report measure. The shortened version (AGQ-S) which contains 12 items and six subscales improves on the original version in three ways: It eliminates the redundant frequency scale, simplifies the scoring of the subscales, and reduces overlap across subscales. The reliability and validity of the AGQ-S were examined within 177 undergraduates from mainland China (46.3% females, mean age = 20.53; SD = 1.31); 158 undergraduates from Macau (61.9% females; mean age = 20.64; SD = 1.67), and 348 5th-graders from mainland China (54.0% females; mean age = 11.56; SD = 0.59), respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses showed acceptable fits of the data for the 12-item model in both studies (χ²/df ranged from 1.24 to 1.70; CFI, IFI, and TLI were all above 0.97). Thus, the scores of the Chinese version of the AGQ-S were found to be valid and reliable. The short form was deemed sufficient for psychological research contexts with extremely limited time constraints.