How to get the value of a select box when it changes

Example of how to take the selected option in a list and pass the value via javascript.

<select onchange="alert(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value);">
	<option value="1">1</option>
	<option value="2">2</option>
	<option value="3">3</option>
	<option value="4">4</option>
	<option value="5">5</option>
</select>