Development and validation of a scale to measure perceived authenticity in writing

• Presents mixed methods validation procedure for the Perceived Authenticity in Writing (PAW) Scale.
• Based on Rasch analyses, scale was found to be a reliable measure.
• Scale found to correlate with writing interest and mastery goal orientation measures.
• Perceived authenticity varied significantly by task, gender, and ethnicity.
• Students at different levels of authenticity had qualitatively different written responses.

The purpose of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of scores obtained from a scale designed to measure authenticity of writing from the writer's perspective: the Perceived Authenticity of Writing (PAW) Scale. Using the concept of funds of knowledge as a framework (Hogg, 2011), 17 items were created to represent three areas of relevance for students: community and global (6 items), personal (5 items), and academic (5 items). One item was intended as a general item to capture an overall rating of authenticity. The PAW Scale was administered to 8th grade students (N = 103), and Rasch measurement theory was used to examine the reliability and validity of the scores. The PAW Scale exhibited good reliability (Rel = .92), and good model-data fit was found for the scale. Validity evidence was also obtained from short written responses, comparison of the conceptual framework and authentic writing theory, and correlations between scores on the PAW Scale and (1) writing self-efficacy (r = .097, ns), (2) writing interest (r = .542, p < .001), (3) mastery goal orientation (r = .446, p < .05), and self-reported prior achievement in writing (r = .116, ns). The PAW Scale offers a promising measure for future research exploring perceived authenticity, including research informing writing assessment policy.