Measuring Grit in Adolescents With and Without Disabilities

In recent policy initiatives focused on college and career readiness, Grit is often lumped with other noncognitive skills deemed as important. Yet, very little is known about the relationship between Grit and disability among adolescents. In this study, we examine measurement invariance of the Grit scale in a sample of adolescents with and without disabilities (n = 5,039). Findings show the scale functions similarly for students with and without disabilities, and the Perseverance factor of Grit significantly predicted grade point average for both groups. Implications for practice suggest use of the scale in school-wide data collection efforts that might be driven by college and career readiness policy initiatives that emphasize measuring noncognitive skills in all students, and an age-appropriate transition assessment in secondary special education.