Reliability and ValidityAs part of the test development process, researchers strive to create psychometrically sound instruments with acceptable levels of reliability and validity. When test items are

Types of Validity PSY3700 Multimedia Assessment and Psychometrics ©20 16 South University 2 Types of Validity Validity Validity refers to the evidence used to support inferences that are made about a test score and its relationships to other variables. The main types of evidence for validity include: face validity, content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity. Although The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (NCME, 2012, as reported in Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013) did not recognize face validity as a component of validity, historically, it has been identified as a type of validity that referred to the "face value" of the test. Accordingly, the appearance of the t est and the acceptance of its items as being appropriate for the test at hand were factors contributing to face validity.

Nevertheless, because it is based on appearance and does not lend empirical support for the conclusions drawn from the data of the tes t, it has lost importance in comparison to other types of validity (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013). Content validity refers to the degree to which a test's items effectively map onto the overall database of items that attempt to measure the construct or trait under investigation. If they do, the items are believed to be valid. Content validity is difficult to quantify a nd does not depend on statistical evidence to support its existence; rather, in searching for evidence for content validity, a researcher is more likely to use logic, intuition, and hard work. Further, items can be presented to a panel of expert judges for evaluation of their content. High interrater agreement on items can be used to justify the inclusion of the items in the test (Gregory, 2013). Evidence for construct validity is secured when a hypothetical entity, or construct, rather than a specific cri terion, is the topic of investigation. In this case, constructs are nebulous and ill -defined; hence, investigators must seek to find evidence in terms of the associations of the test with other measures of the same construct. Construct validity is subdivid ed into two areas, convergent and discriminant evidence. The first looks at the convergence of the test with other measures of the construct whereas the second looks at the uniqueness of the test when compared to measures of unrelated constructs. For a tes t to have incremental utility, it must offer something new to the array of pre -existing tests; otherwise, it is redundant. Thus, both similarity and differences between measures are important parts of construct validity and calculating correlations to asse ss degrees of similarity and differences is part of the evidence gathering process of construct validity (Gregory, 2013). Criterion validity represents how well a test correlates with a specific criterion, the criterion being the standard against which th e test is compared (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013). An example of criterion validity is the correlation between a student’s score on the quantitative part of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and the student’s grade point average (GPA) in a psychology gradu ate program. Here, the criterion would be defined as academic success in graduate school as manifested through GPA. The GRE math score becomes a "stand in" for predicting the success of the student at a future point in time. The predictive validity of the test is evidenced by the correlational coefficient between the predictor and criterion variables and is an example of the use of PSY3700 Multimedia Assessment and Psychometrics ©20 16 South University 3 Types of Validity Validity test scores to make high -stakes decisions. That is, if graduate schools use GRE scores to determine who gains entrance into the ir programs, they must also justify their decisions based on the predictive validity of the GRE. In contrast to predictive validity, concurrent validity estimates the extent to which a test score can effectively reflect an individual's current position on a criterion (Gregory, 2013). As noted, both concurrent and predictive validity of a test can be used to justify high -stakes decisions that may positively or negatively affect the lives of many individuals. PSY3700 Multimedia Assessment and Psychometrics ©20 16 South University 4 Types of Validity Validity References Gregory, R. (2013). Psychological te sting: History, principles, and applications (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Kaplan, R., & Saccuzzo, D. (2013). Psychological testing: Principles, applications , & issues (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. © 201 6 South University