Validity for What Purpose?

Abstract

Background/Context

The evolution of validity understandings from mid-century to now has emphasized that test validity depends on test purpose—adding consequence considerations to issues of interpretation and evidentiary warrants.

Purpose

To consider the tensions created by multiple purposes for assessment and sketch briefly how we got to where we are; furthermore, to address two critically important purposes: the accountability purpose versus the learning purpose for assessment.

Research Design

This is an analytic, closing commentary to this special section.

Conclusions

When a test is used as an educational reform, the theory of action behind the reform should be made explicit and that theory or series of claims and assumptions is what should be examined in the validity evaluation. As to the prospect of improving the teaching profession by the use of value-added methods, I believe that this is an overly ambitious use of a potentially useful statistical tool. As these systems are being implemented, we can and should conduct validity studies designed to detect plausible shortcomings and side effects as well as intended outcomes.