Please Validate Me

Validation is the process by which we authenticate something (Dictionary.com). On Facebook, this is achieved by getting Likes or comments. However, in the context of testing, validation is achieved by proving that your test is appropriate for use. This process involves several steps.

Test validity and why it sucks

Test validity is the quality that says “I am measuring what I say I am measuring.” It is NOT a quality of a test, but rather, a quality of the interpretations you make of a test. Basically, it is how appropriate your test score interpretations are. For example, an achievement test can be interpreted as an evaluation of a student’s performance; a diagnosis of learning disability; a predictor of college success; etc. Each of these interpretations must be validated.

How do I validate?

“How do I formally validate a test”, you may never ask. Well the answer is complicated. There is a formal procedure that mainly involves consulting an expert, referring to a manual, and making a “validity argument.”

Validity arguments are formed by gathering evidence. This evidence is used to judge how appropriate a test is for application. There are several types of evidences. For the sake of readability I will not go through them here.

What is Face Validity, and why do I care?

Face Validity

Whereas content-based validity is acquired through the systematic and technical analysis of the test content, face validity involves only the superficial appearance of a test (Reynolds & Livingston, 2012). In other words, it has to do with what a test appears to measure. It is not technically a form of validity.

Why Do I Care?

Excellent question. A test with good face validity can lead to cooperative and helpful participants. It can increase the participant’s motivation, which cam in turn increase their test performance. Poor face validity, on the other hand, may lead to negative attitudes towards the test. It may lead to the actual validity suffering. In that way good face validity ensures cooperative examinees.

However face validity is not always desirable. Instances when face validity is undesirable are instances of malingering.

Malingering

Malingering is a situation in which an examinee intentionally feigns mental symptoms in order to gain some external incentive (money, leave-of-absence, bail, etc.) In these situations face validity is not desirable because it may help the examinee fake pathological responses (Reynolds & Livingston, 2012). Thus poor face validity is useful in detecting malingered responses.

Conclusion

In conclusion, validity is an important characteristic of test score interpretations. It tells the user that the test is measuring what it says it is measuring and that the test is appropriate for use. Face validity tells the user that the test is measuring what it appears to be measuring. Though it is not technically a form of validity, it can be very useful in establishing cooperative examinees.

Thank-you for your time!

References:

Reynolds, C. R., & Livingston, R. B. (2012). Validity. Mastering Modern Psychological Testing Theory & Methods (154–185). Pearson Education, Inc.

Validity. (2010). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/validity

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