How predictive are self-reported strategies for their actual use?

Following some basic thoughts concerning the quality of retrospective self- reports the necessity of analyzing the predictive validity of learning-stra tegy-questionnaires is pointed out. The study presented is aimed at such co mparison between students' retrospective self-reports about strategic learn ing and their actual use of these strategies. For this purpose we analyzed the use of learning strategies of 270 4(th), 6(th), and 8(th) graders while studying a text in individual sessions and compared it to students' self-r eported use of strategies in a questionnaire referring to the same domain. Neither for single strategies nor for strategy-scales substantial relations between retrospective self-reports and the actual use of strategies could be found. Taken together the participating students - relatively to their a ctual use - tended to overestimate their strategic competence and performan ce. The presented results indicate that the predictive validity of question naire-based strategy data of students of this age can be seriously question ed.