Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly being adopted in education to foster engagement and interest in a variety of subjects and content areas. However, there is a scarcity of instruments to measure the instructional impact of this innovation. This article addresses this gap in two unique ways. First, it presents validation results of the Augmented Reality Presence Scale (ARPS), which was created to evaluate presence in augmented learning environments. Using the Rasch Rating Scale Model, ARPS was validated with 90 college students involved in an AR learning experience. Second, it analyzed the correlations between ARPS scores and the Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (RIMMS). ARPS was found to be a reliable instrument to evaluate AR presence. Additionally, ARPS was found to be positively correlated to all the four RIMMS dimensions (i.e., attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction). These research results point to presence as a desirable outcome of AR-mediated instruction. Moreover, AR presence was facilitated by non-invasive interfaces and perceived agency. Finally, this technology was shown to be productive in addressing all motivation stages rather than working just as a starting step.