Credentialing organizations are expected to provide evidence of “reliability and validity” for any tests or assessment used in the credentialing process. Validity is considered of paramount importance—but what is it?
The concept of validity has been a topic of hot debate among psychometricians in terms of how it should be defined, conceptualized, communicated, and used. These issues bring a sparkle to the eyes of many psychometricians, but the eyes of others tend to glaze over as the discussion ensues. Fortunately, one does not need a psychometrician’s level of expertise in order to embrace the basic concept of validity. Validity has to do with whether a test serves its intended purpose effectively.
