The purpose of this national, quantitative study was to (1) provide psychometrics for the ACUHO-I/EBI RA Survey, a joint project between between Educational Benchmarking, Inc (EBI) and The Association of College and University Housing Officers - International (ACUHO-I), and (2) explore the sophomore resident assistant (RA) experience. This study used a pre-existing, database compiled with the results of the ACUHO-I/EBI RA Survey distributed to residence life staff during the fall semester of 2004 and the spring semester of 2005. The sample included completed surveys from 1,443 sophomore RAs representing 61 institutions from the District of Columbia and 28 states.While the RA Survey continues to be used extensively for benchmarking and assessment purposes at institutions nationally, no evidence of construct validity measures is readily available. This study examines the psychometrics, construct validity and reliability, of the RA Survey when administered to a sophomore RA sample. Analysis included inter-item correlations, confirmatory factor analysis, and Cronbach's Alpha reliability measure. The results of this study provide researchers and administrators evidence of reliability, validity, and information about item characteristics for the RA Survey when used with sophomore RAs. The 10-factor structure is deemed appropriate for the sophomore RA sample based on acceptable values for RMSEA, CFI, TLI, WRMR, and factor loading and serves as evidence of construct validity. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients ranging from 0.84 to 0.95 indicated internal consistency for the 10-factors. Results also demonstrated incidences of multicollinearity. Implications highlight the need for practitioner expectation and usage of psychometric evidence prior to the utilization of assessment instruments. Sophomore RAs exist at a point where the sophomore experience and the RA position intersect. Sophomore students contend with specific struggles and challenges unique to their class standing. Resident assistant positions are demanding, hardly an ideal environment for sophomore students already under stress. This study addressed the associations between specific factors attributed to the sophomore student (gender, expectations, and GPA), resident assistant position factors (role of the hall director, training, and work/life conditions) and outcomes (job satisfaction, turnover intention, and RA self-efficacy). Sophomore RA experience analysis included mean group differences via multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) for gender, academic performance, and turnover intention and correlations between expectations, role of the hall director, training, work/life conditions, job satisfaction, and RA self-efficacy. Results found sophomore RAs satisfied with all aspects of their RA position, demonstrated acceptable to high academic performance, and are committed to their RA positions given most will return to their RA positions. The study offers a confirmed presence of sophomores hired in RA positions and a confirmed sophomore RA attrition rate (return to the RA position for a second year). The study also provides a sophomore RA experience factor relationship structure. Furthermore, the implications suggest that the RA position may serve as an unintentional Sophomore Year Experience (SYE) program for sophomores hired as RAs.
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