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UW Oshkosh Testing Services Supports:
Validity of a Test:
Content or curricular validity is generally used to assess whether a classroom test is measuring what it is supposed
to measure. For example, a test is said to have content validity if it closely parallels the material which has been taught and the
thinking skills that have been important in the course. Whereas reliability is expressed as a quantitative measure (e.g., .87
reliability), content validity is obtained through a rational or logical analysis of the test. That is, one logically compares the
test content with the course content and determines how well the former represents the latter.
A quantitative method of assessing test validity is to examine each test item. This is accomplished by reviewing the discrimination
(IDis) of each item. If an item has a discrimination measure of 25% or higher, it is said to have validity, that is, it is doing what
it is suppose to be doing – discriminating between those that are knowledgeable and those that are not knowledgeable.