function getComboA(selectObject) {
  var value = selectObject.value;  
  console.log(value);
}

<select id="comboA" onchange="getComboA(this)">
  <option value="">Select combo</option>
  <option value="Value1">Text1</option>
  <option value="Value2">Text2</option>
  <option value="Value3">Text3</option>
</select>

The above example gets you the selected value of combo box on OnChange event.

Another approach wich can be handy in some situations, is passing the value of the selected <option /> directly to the function like this:

function myFunction(chosen) {
  console.log(chosen);
}

<select onChange="myFunction(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value)">
  <option value="1">Text 1</option>
  <option value="2">Text 2</option>
</select>

For how to do it in jQuery:

<select id="yourid">
<option value="Value 1">Text 1</option>
<option value="Value 2">Text 2</option>
</select>

<script src="jquery.js"></script>
<script>
$('#yourid').change(function() {
  alert('The option with value ' + $(this).val() + ' and text ' + $(this).text() + ' was selected.');
});
</script>

You should also know that Javascript and jQuery are not identical. jQuery is valid JavaScript code, but not all JavaScript is jQuery. You should look up the differences and make sure you are using the appropriate one.