Many prison classification systems include risk assessment instruments designed to assign individuals to institutions varying in security features or to levels of supervision differing in staffing patterns and the extent of inmate privileges. Decision criteria that make up classification instruments are selected to measure inmate attributes as information that predicts the occurrence or rates of prison disciplinary problems. The present article is an introduction to research designs and methods for use in the validation of classification instruments. Hypothetical validity findings are presented to demonstrate their critical role in the development of a classification system. Finally, it is concluded that validation research, whether for management or scientific purposes, is optimally conducted in a program of research designed to evaluate the risk assessment instrument in the context of other components of the classification system and environmental variables that influence validity criterion behavior.
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